Supernatural - The Eye of the Tiger
by Yunorok
Summary: During a time of sibling conflict as Sam and Dean differ on opinions regarding the British Men of Letters, the brothers' relationship is challenged as they hunt a mystical creature in the wilds of Montana. In an unfortunate turn of events, Dean is magically transformed into a tiger in the midst of an animal-on-human war threatening the very existence of the city of Singleshot.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

John Draily hiked through the serene forests of Montana as he did every summer. It was his tradition to take a week off and get as far away from human civilization as he could and just enjoy the outdoors. This year he had decided to try a new place in the middle of Montana: the Flathead National Forest. Sure, there was always a risk hiking alone miles and miles away from another living soul, but there was something about the solitude that he wouldn't trade anything for.

As he hiked, the forest seemed to grow denser and denser under the bright blue sky. It wasn't long before it became difficult to find footing because of all the green growth on the ground. He did worry a bit about ticks and other such nuisances, the idea of seeing such full and lush nature proved greater than his fear of pests.

He continued into the forest until he came out in what was the most beautiful grove he'd ever seen. Surrounded by a wall of tall, healthy trees, John took in the beauty. He walked quietly, feeling almost like he was in a sacred place where noise was frowned upon. There were flowers and birds chirping everywhere. Butterflies littered the small grove and a still pond graced the center, feeding the plants around it with a clean place for water.

Before he could give his full attention to the water before him, a bee flew onto him. While, he knew he wasn't allergic to the black and yellow insects, he still didn't particularly care to get stung. He carefully raised his arm up toward his other hand and before the bee even knew what was happening, it was just a dead corpse on his arm. He carelessly brushed it off like it didn't matter and refocused on the wonderful place he'd discovered.

John approached the picturesque pond and took a swig of water. It was as clean and refreshing as the bottled water he'd buy at the store. As he stood up to enjoy his new found oasis, he noticed something hanging from the tree just beyond the water.

He went over to inspect it, approaching it like one might approach a hive of bees, just in case it was something dangerous. After all, there wasn't anyone around for miles. When he got close enough to really take in what it was, he realized it was something like a dream-catcher or a wind-chime. Only, this one wasn't made with strings or metal chimes. It was made with animal bones and flowers. The odd thing was that the flowers were still alive despite being separated from their roots.

As he stared at the strange creation, a quiet set of feet made their way behind him. He never even heard them until they were directly behind him. He noticed a large shadow loom over him and whipped himself around to see what it was. In his head he feared and expected to see a large grizzly bear towering over him, ready to end his life. But that was not at all what he saw. No, he saw something much stranger.

Standing over him was what looked a lot like a man. But it was clearly not a man. He had the torso and face of a man, except that his skin was a deep purple and his eyes had no pupils. They were just hollow whites. He had the antlers of an elk or something sticking far out from his forehead and the feathers of a large bird hanging from his arms. His waist and feet were also that of a large bird, but he seemed to have no trouble standing on them. In his hand was a gnarled staff of sorts that looked very old.

Before John could react any further, the man started chanting something odd and placed his large hands on John's shoulders. John screamed out before his voice was muffled into a slight squeak.

The strange man faded back into the forest, leaving just a pile of hiker's clothes behind. Out of the pile of sweaty clothes hopped a little white rabbit with strangely intelligent blue eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Dean slammed the motel room door behind him as he fumed at Sam. They were brothers and had been working together to hunt monsters for years. They had each other's back always, or at least that's what Dean thought. However, since the British Men of Letters had made their way onto the scene, things had gotten blurred.

Mary, the boys' mother, since being raised from the dead by God's sister, had joined them on their hunts before she ended up joining the British Men of Letters in a fool's dream of ending the entire planet of monsters and baddies. While Dean could never hate her since she was his mother, he didn't have a particular fond spot for her at the moment. Now he had found out that for the last few weeks, his own brother Sam had been working secretly with them as well.

It was as if they had all forgotten that on more than one occasion the British Men of Letters had captured, tortured, and even tried to kill them. They didn't follow the Hunter's Code. Monsters were hunted and killed. Humans were rescued and protected. Sam and Dean had both seen the British Men of Letters kill humans as if they were nothing more than livestock if it aided them in getting a step closer toward ganking a monster.

Dean simply couldn't believe that Sam was on board with this. Something he made very clear to Sam. "How the hell can you be on board with this?" His voice nearly rattled the motel's thin walls.

"Dean, calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down." Dean barked back. Sam was always trying to play the peacekeeper, but now was not the time for peace. This was war. Sam had betrayed Dean and sadly, this wasn't the first time. "You signed up with those pricks without telling me!"

"You would have said 'no'!" Sam argued.

"Hell yes, I woulda' said 'no'!" Dean agreed. "Have you forgotten how they've tried to kill us repeatedly. How they tortured you?"

"I'm not saying I like them. We're not friends. Hell, I'm not even saying I trust them."

"Then what are you doing with them?" Dean hollered.

"You know…"

"I really don't."

"The enemy of my enemy and all that."

"Do you really buy that?" Dean threw his heavy boots onto the floor, using any small outlet as a means of releasing his rage. "I can't believe you. I don't even want to look at you right now."

"Would you just let me explain myself to you?" Sam argued. "Can't you just trust me?"

"No!" Dean shouted. "Y'wanna know why?" Dean pointed a very accusatory finger at his younger brother. "Because this is so you. I trusted you before and what happened? You betrayed me with Ruby! _Then,_ You betrayed me a _second_ time with Ruby! You betrayed me when I gave up my life for you-"

"We agreed to not do anything to bring each other back!" Sam argued.

"Yeah, and yet I loved you enough to do it anyway!"

"Dean." Sam said plainly. "I love you, man, but that doesn't mean we have to agree on everything."

"There's a big difference in disagreeing and betrayal, Sam."

"If you'd just let me explain. If you'd just trust me on this..."

"I already did." Dean explained. "When I first found out you explained yourself and I took it well. I trusted that you knew what you were doing."

"Right." Sam said, clearly ready to say more but never got the chance.

"Now I'm furious." Dean explained. "I thought I could ignore the betrayal and the lies. I thought I could force myself to believe that you knew best. I thought I could put aside our different mantras to work with the Brits, but I can't, especially not after this."

"They were just doing what they thought was right."

"Sam, the road to hell is pathed in good intentions. Those were innocent children we could have saved. They were not expendable."

Sam knew Dean was right. The British Men of Letters had used the children of the town as bait to lure in Changelings so they could finish the job. They didn't shed a tear for the kids or the families in grief. "I know, man."

"And that's why I'm furious." Dean snapped. "Because you broke my trust again. You betrayed me and got us involved with them."

"But just think." Sam continued. "If their plan really works, we'll be free of all monsters."

"That'll never happen and you know it." Dean retorted. "That's life expecting all of the world's worries to go away simply because you dreamed they would. They don't go away. Life will always have problems just as the world will always have monsters. It's a simple fact."

"Will you let me talk about this or are you just going to yell at me?"

"I'm done yelling. I'm hitting the shower. I don't want to look at you right now." Dean huffed as he stripped his clothes off at record speed as he slammed the bathroom door shut in Sam's face – an added emphasis as to how angry he was at him. While Sam was certainly pissed over Dean's stubborn attitude and childish behavior, he knew Dean had a lot of rights for how he felt. He decided, that at least for the moment, he'd remain silent and let Dean blow some steam off. He only hoped that he hadn't done any irreparable damage to their trust.

In the meantime, Sam decided they could at least make themselves useful. It was clear that for now, Dean would not tolerate working with the British Men of Letters, and truth be told Sam was a little perturbed over the children bait and could do for a case or two separate from them. They needed to do something just the two of them. Something that could help them learn to work together again and settle their differences. Something that could show Dean that he could trust him.

Sam pulled out his laptop and began searching for a new gig for them both. As he was in the middle of the search, Dean stepped out of the bathroom in his underwear and climbed into bed. "A little early for bed, don't you think?" Sam asked over the laptop's bright screen. He intended it to be a light, friendly conversation starter, but Dean ignored it completely. He didn't even look in Sam's direction. Sam just sighed and got back to work. Dean needed his space, and unfortunately in their line of work, the most space he could usually get was a few feet away in a separate bed. To make things worse, on this case, they only had one king-sized bed, part of the reason Dean was going to bed early: to keep Sam from climbing in next to him and chatting like he normally did. Dean was seriously pissed. _At least he's not pissed enough to drive off and ditch me here._ Sam thought gloomily to himself.

Sam read through all sorts of articles about strange crimes and disappearances across the nation, but all of them seemed like totally normal human-orchestrated crimes until he stumbled upon some vanishings in Montana.

Apparently over the last few months several people that hiked into the Rocky Mountains seemed to go missing. Rangers would find various articles of the hikers' clothing in the woods, but no bodies to go along with them. The running story was that they were bear attacks and the bears just ate around the clothes. Sam could barely contain a chuckle at how dumb that sounded, but given that the average news-reader wasn't really that interested in solving the crime, he was pretty sure such a conclusion would be widely accepted.

Sam marked that on his web browser and map and prepared to lead his brother there in the morning. For now, he changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed. Fight or not, angry brother or not- nothing was going to stop him from getting a good night's sleep before a long drive.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Kenny Bigs had just finished cleaning out the lion's pen as the zoo's lights all began to turn off. He and his team of five would remain into the wee hours of the night cleaning and caring for the animals so that they were ready for another busy day as the zoo's star attractions in the morning.

As he made his way out of the lion's pen and headed toward the zebras, he saw that the ostrich exhibit was still a mess and Megan wasn't there as she was supposed to have been. He looked around to try to locate his missing assistant or find a reason as to why she wasn't doing her job. He found neither.

"Megan?" He called out. Nothing. Not even a response from the animals. Just dead silence. Kenny moved his way down the winding path the customers would wander on as they gawked at the various species the zoo had to present. However, there was no sign of Megan. At least, not until he stepped onto a loose zoo employee's uniform. Confused, he bent down and picked it up. The nametag said it plainly. MEGAN. She had been there, but now she was… streaking?

"MEGAN?!" Kenny called out again, a bit confused, worried, and maybe a bit angry. The girl had a job here. This wasn't just another one of her sorority house parties or whatever it was that she was into nowadays. No answer. The night was eerily quiet.

Kenny let out a high-pitched squeal as a penguin darted out of the bushes beside the path and ran straight into him. The creature, apparently un-phased by its sudden encounter with a human, continued to caw and squawk at him as if it wanted something. While Kenny couldn't make a lick of sense of its hectic motions and frenzied cries, he could see an unusual awareness in the creature's eyes. It seemed far more intelligent than any penguin he'd ever encountered.

Brushing his thoughts aside, he grabbed the penguin and headed to the penguin pool. He'd deal with Megan later. At the moment, he needed to sort out what happened that a penguin would be on the loose.

Arriving at the penguin pool, he counted the sleeping penguins. 12. That's how many there were supposed to be. He looked at the unusually calm penguin in his arms as it looked right back at him. That's 13. "One too many." Kenny said to the penguin, as if it could understand him.

The penguin became lively and active as it seemed to gesture with its wings toward the corner of the penguin exhibit. Kenny unknowingly allowed his eyes to follow the penguin's unusual pointing gesture and saw what it saw. Another pile of zoo employee clothing. "What in the world?" He asked himself. What was going on?

Before he could react, the penguin bolted out of Kenny's arms and waddled off at a rapid speed. Kenny turned to see exactly what had spooked the penguin so much. He nearly fell on his ass as some creepy man approached him confidently from the shadows.

As he got closer, Kenny could clearly see this was no ordinary man. Though most of him was covered by shadows, he could tell that the man had glowing empty eyes and some kind of antlers growing out of his head.

Kenny turned to run and as he did so pulled out his cell phone and dialed 9-1-1. He didn't get a word out before a large, clawed hand grabbed him. In one final human scream, a fifth zoo employee's uniform laid empty on the ground.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Sammy woke up as he hit the floor hard. "The hell?" He got up and saw that Dean had intentionally shoved him out of the bed. "What gives?"

"I'm practically naked, man!" Dean responded as if that should have been obvious.

"That's not my problem."

"It is when you're trying to cuddle with me."

"I wasn't cuddling with you." Sam hissed back. "I was just sleeping."

"Well, forgive me if I'm not really in the mood to share a bed with a brother that puts foreigners before his own flesh and blood."

"You're still going on about this?" Sam sighed frustrated. "What time is it anyway?"

Dean looked at the clock. "7 in the a.m."

"We might as well hit the road." Sam sighed as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.

"And just where do you think we're going?" Dean asked as he climbed out of bed with a frustrated groan before slipping his underwear off and tossing them on the pile of his bags on the floor.

"Real nice, man."

"Get over it." Dean countered. "I know you seem to have forgotten, but we're brothers. This should be nothing for you."

Sam chose to ignore his jab and just get on with things. "I found us a case in Montana." He explained. "A bunch of people going missing in the same region of woods miles from town."

"You're sure it's not just people getting lost?" Dean asked as he walked bare-assed to the bathroom and peed with the door open.

"Well, unless it's normal for people to get lost, but leave all their clothes behind in a pile, then I'm pretty sure we have a case. The local authorities are calling the cases bear attacks."

"Right, unless Yogi got real kinky over the years." Dean joked as he finished up and started into the shower.

"Is there a reason you're walking around so naked in front of me?"

"I'm mad at you." Dean said plainly. "This is just another way to make you suffer."

"Whatever, just hurry up so we can get going."

After a race to get ready, Sam and Dean were on the road to Montana. The trip was long and awkward as Dean remained mad at him for his work with the British Men of Letters. At Dean's pace, though, they'd reach their destination in less than a day.

"So, why the case?" Dean asked. His tone was more calm than it had been for the last 24 hours.

Sam looked at him, hesitant to answer just in case it was some booby trap that he had set up. Identifying no trap, he spoke. "I just thought it'd be nice for us to work together on something. Away from all the Men of Letters. Just the two of us."

Dean remained silent for what felt like forever as he took in Sam's explanation. Finally he spoke without looking at his little brother. "And you think this will fix what's going on between us." It was more of a statement, but there was a question hidden there too.

"I hope it'll help. Just us two hunting a monster like the good days."

"I hope it'll help." Dean stated. "I hate hating you. But I can't deal with all the behind-the-back kinda' stuff you do."

"I know, but I mean well."

"Well, it doesn't show. You do this so much it almost seems intentional." At that word, Dean's accusatory eyes rested on Sam. Sam choked up. The guilt was strangling him. He never wanted to hurt Dean. That was the honest truth, but yet, it did seem like he did so quite frequently.

"Well, it's not."

"I know." Dean said. "I hope this goes well."

"This?"

"The case." Dean explained. "Because I'm going to be, unlike you, honest with you. Last night I was considering driving off and hunting solo. I'm tired of being blindsided by you all the time. I'm sick of thinking we're in it together just to find out that I'm the fool and you're going behind my back."

"Dean…"

"Just stop, Sammy." Dean insisted. "We've already established that this isn't the first time." Dean paused. "The truth is, I'm a great hunter. I don't need help."

"But-" Sam was cut off.

"The only reason I work with you is because I want to." Dean explained. "I don't need to. Yes, you're very capable and an asset, but not needed. I work with you because I like to."

"Do you honestly believe that?" Sam asked, trying not to cry. That'd only give Dean more ammunition.

"I do." Dean answered. "I was fine the first time you betrayed me."

"When was that? Ruby?"

"Stanford." Dean answered dryly.

Sam didn't have an answer to that. He loved Stanford and Jessica and the whole life he had there, but even on his best days he couldn't deny that there was a level of guilt he felt for leaving Dean alone with their drill sergeant of a dad, especially since Dean had sacrificed his entire childhood, hell, his entire life to raising and caring for him.

Dean continued. "If this trip is nothing but us fighting then that's it. We're done."

"Just like that?" Sam asked. "You'd toss your brother to the curb?"

"You seem to have no trouble doing it."

The words hurt Sam unlike any words he could recall. The truth was that now he would never give Dean up for the world, but in the past he had, and sometimes he had even done so consciously. "That won't happen."

"I sure hope not." With that, Dean did his typical conversation ender: he turned up the radio to some classic rock and sped the car up a bit. They'd reach Montana quicker than Sam was ready for and then the test was on.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Melanie Gruber arrived at work just as they finished accounting for as many animals as they could. According to the police, they had arrived at the zoo in response to an emergency call they received from Kenny Bigs' cell phone. When they had arrived, all the zoo employees for the night were gone, save their clothes, and several of the cages had been busted open.

To this time, none of the employees had been found and only about half of the animals had been located. Fortunately none of the cages broken into had been carnivorous beasts, though that didn't mean they weren't dangerous.

They had recollected all of the zebras, penguins, camels, and elephants. However, there were still a few gazelles left out there somewhere as well as a rhinoceros.

Melanie spent the day guiding the police around the facilities and answering as many questions as they had. She showed them files on the missing employees as well as camera footage that was recorded (as the cameras did 24/7) during the night shift of which those employees were a part of.

She didn't know what was going on, but it did raise some major questions, though she figured this wasn't the time or place to ask them. She wondered, though, if the piles of clothes and missing hikers in the woods were considered victims of bear attacks, how did they explain the same piles of clothing and missing employees in a caged off zoo? Did a bear make its way through the locked gates of the park and silently, and bear-tracklessly take off with five young adults in the night?

They were questions for another time, she figured. She was uncomfortable around the police, and didn't want to interrupt their investigations. She figured they could do their job better than she could. She'd ask them another day to someone else. Until then, she knew she had her work cut out for her until the answers to the employees' sudden and mysterious disappearance were found.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Dean and Sam arrived at Singleshot Zoo after having heard what had happened on the local news. Dean was grateful for the zoo employees going missing because it seemed to him that they saved him a long trek out into the deep woods of Montana. They could likely get all the evidence they needed right there.

They both made their way in under the guise of F.B.I. agents, as was typical of them. The local police didn't bat an eye or question their legitimacy one bit. They simply stepped aside and let them do whatever they wanted. The Winchesters found it to be a nice break. They didn't really have to work at keeping up the charade at all.

They explored the grounds and found the piles of clothing sitting with police tape all around. There was no blood or anything, which was unusual for their line of work. They also saw where the cages were broken open. "Look at this." Sam said as he looked closely at the cage. There was a new large padlock on it, but beneath it and around it, there were clear claw marks going across the gate. Claw marks that would have gone right across the old padlock and freed the animals.

"So it's not a human." Dean stated plainly as if it they could have already assumed that. It wasn't like most humans made people vanish unexplainably.

"Likely not." Sam agreed. "And whatever it was only targeted humans, it seems. Won't know that for sure until we check with someone at the zoo to make sure all the animals are accounted for."

"So we've got some sorta' creature that wanted to, what?" Dean asked with a shrug. "Eat exotic animals? Free them? What would it want?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Together they made their way to the on-duty zoo manager for some questions. They walked into a way-over-air-conditioned office facility tucked back behind plants and decorations to keep it out of the sights of customers and found the office of Melanie Gruber. With a knock, Dean and Sam made their way in, flashing their convincing F.B.I. badges to the woman. "Have a minute?" Dean asked. "We just have a few questions for you."

She turned from her computer, glanced at the clock, and smiled. "Sure, come on in."

Surprisingly, there was only one seat opposite her desk. Maybe not many people had appointments with the zoo manager.

Dean raced into the chair, leaving Sam to stand throughout the conversation. "Sorry there's only one chair. Small office." She shrugged and gave an apologetic smile. "How can I help you, agents?"

"The employees that went missing; Did you know them well?" Sam asked.

"I can't say I knew them _well_ , but I was there boss, so I did know them." Melanie explained. "They were all young. High schoolers and college students."

"Were they the kind of kids that would, well, let's just put it plainly, strip off their clothes and all run off together in the middle of the night?" Dean asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"No. I'm afraid the crime's not that simple." Melanie chuckled a bit. "They were good workers. A bit on the lazy side, as most kids that age are, but good kids that I was happy to employ."

"Any of them have bad attitudes?" Sam asked.

"No. Not that they showed at work, at least. If I told them to do something, they did it. If they complained or whatever, they did it behind my back."

"Right. Do you know if anyone would have a reason to kidnap or hurt them?"

"I can't imagine that. They were are well-mannered kids. I don't know why anyone would do this to them." Melanie sounded genuinely upset at the predicament her employees were now in, if they were even alive to be in a predicament.

"I know this is an awkward and maybe uncomfortable question, but were any of them attractive in a way that maybe some creep might kidnap them for his or her own enjoyment?" Dean asked a bit uncomfortably.

Melanie's face scrunched up slightly in disgust at the thought. "Maybe. There were a couple guys and girls that I would consider especially good looking for kids their age." She explained. "I would hope no one would kidnap them just to take advantage of them."

"Thank you. That's helpful." Dean said with a smile. "Moving on. The animals. We noticed that some of the cages were broken into." He started. "Any idea why?"

"Not really." Melanie answered with a perplexed face. "That's something I was hoping you could explain to me."

"Hopefully we'll be able to." Dean commented. "Were any of the animals that were broken loose injured or killed?"

"No."

"Are any still missing?" Sam asked.

"No. They're all safely and securely back in their cages. Not a single scratch on'em."

"Any idea why just those five cages were targeted?"

"Not a clue." Melanie said before speculating. "I wonder if the culprit was aiming at all of the animals, you know, like one of those animal rights freaks? Hoping that they could simply set loose exotic animals from all over the world into the Montana wilderness expecting them to have better lives than here in captivity."

"It doesn't sound like you're a fan." Dean smirked.

"I'm not." Melanie explained. "I'm all for animals and taking care of them. But let's face it, if you set a zebra free in Montana it will die. They're not indigenous here, so setting them free will only kill them. We take good care of our animals."

"Then why did they only go for five cages? What were they… elephants, camels, penguins, the gazelle and zebra pen, and the rhinoceros?" Sam asked as he looked back up from his notepad.

"Right." Melanie answered. "And they're all home safe." She added with a proud smile. "None of them really ran anywhere. They're so familiar with their pens, they don't really feel comfortable going anywhere else." She smiled and rolled her eyes. "Sorry, I'm rambling."

"No problem." Sam smiled.

"I think they only went for those five pens because the police showed up. Apparently, before our employee Kenny Bigs was taken or whatever, he placed a call to 9-1-1. They came immediately and I bet they scared the culprit away."

"Maybe." Dean smiled. "You could be a detective yourself."

"Do you have any footage of the night that we could view?" Sam asked.

"Of course. The zoo has 24-hour surveillance on all pens. I've already shown the local cops and they didn't seem to notice anything odd, but you're welcome to check it out as well."

"If you don't mind. It's part of our agency's mandatory procedures." Sam explained.

"Sure, follow me." Melanie stood up and led the brothers, now posing as Agent Brink and Lee, into a security room with several small television screens all focused on different parts of the park.

"Alright, unless you need me to stay here, I'll leave you to it and get back to cleaning up this catastrophe?" Melanie asked as she already started to back toward the door.

"We're all good. Thanks for your help." Dean flashed her a very handsome show of his pearly whites. "We really appreciate your time."

"My pleasure." She blushed slightly as she left the room.

Sam elbowed Dean the moment she was out of earshot. "Stop flirting with everyone we question."

"I wasn't. All I did was smile." Dean defended himself.

"I've know you a long time, Dean…" Sam started.

"How long?" Dean asked with a faux-surprised face, as if this was news to him.

"My whole life, moron." Sam rolled his eyes. "I can tell when you're 'just smiling' and when you're flirting. With Bob, you're just smiling, with anyone with a pair of boobs, you're flirting."

"Shut up." Dean scoffed as he turned to the screens. "We're here on work, so stop bitching."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Bearthian stalked in the bushes just outside the zoo's perimeter as he watched all sorts of humans meander about. He wasn't very familiar with their species other than that they seemed to make a home for themselves anywhere and everywhere they went. This wouldn't have been a problem if building a home didn't include chasing off the animals and creatures that already resided there.

The very place he was looking at was an abomination. Humans held animals against their will, and for that he would punish them. He had attempted to free the poor creatures the night before, but was interrupted when a large number of humans with bright flashing lights showed up for reasons Bearthian didn't understand. He could tell, though, that they were not friendly. So he ran.

As soon as the sun hid beneath the earth, and the humans went to sleep, he would try again. This time he would free them all and any human that he saw holding the animals in would suffer the same fate as the ones he encountered the night before.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Sam and Dean sat in an old diner across the street from the motel they had taken up temporary residency in. Compared to other motels they had stayed at, it was pretty nice. Big bathroom. Big tub with a shower. Two small twin beds. Reasonable décor and furnishings. A working TV with cable. The only real problem, and they both agreed on this, was that the air-conditioning system worked too hard. Their room was about as cold as an icy tundra. Sam had tried to adjust the thermostat, but it had done nothing.

As they sat and ate their pulled-pork sandwich (Dean) and Five-Veggie Salad (Sam) they discussed their plan. "We need to call them." Sam insisted.

"We don't need to call the British Men of Letters." Dean huffed. He felt like Sam and he were always having the same fights on loop, like a turntable with only one track spiraling around on it. "We can handle this." Dean boldly stated. "I can handle this."

Sam ignored the exclusion from Dean's plan and got back to the point. "They have a much more impressive database on supernatural creeps than we do, Dean. If we asked them, we could know in five minutes flat what we're dealing with."

"We don't need them, Sam." Dean took a big bite of his sandwich and spoke through his chews in a distorted, muffled manner that only Sammy could really understand. "The point of this hunt was to get away from them, right? Just you and me."

"Right." Sam conceded. "But lives are at stake here. Why waste time trying to figure this all out on our own when we could save them with the British Men of Letters' help?"

"So, what's the plan, Sammy-boy? What are we gonna' do this time?" Dean asked as he swallowed and licked his fingers clean. "Are we gonna' line up a bunch of puppies and see what comes out and slaughters them? Or, oh better yet, how about we round up some innocent children and tie them up. Then, when we find their hearts all eaten out, we'll know the monster's a werewolf. Then we can follow the trail of children blood and kiddie-organs back to the den, job well-done."

"Dean, get serious." Sam whined.

"You know I'm serious." Dean said flatly. "That's how they work, and you know it. We both saw it."

Sam couldn't deny it. He had seen it with his own eyes. Children used as bait just for easing the work of the hunt. It had done that, but the plan didn't go exactly right. Some kids had died and the Men of Letters didn't seem nearly upset enough over it. "But neither of us have any idea what we're dealing with." Sam reiterated. Sam complained. "Can't you trust me on this?"

"No. So we do some research."

Sam sighed heavily as he practically felt like the steam of anger was about to shoot out of his ears like in a cartoon. "We don't have any leads." Sam nearly yelled, catching the attention of the other patrons of the restaurant. A bit embarrassed, he lowered his voice to a harsh hiss. "We've nothing to go off of."

"Y'know, this isn't really working out." Dean said as he gestured back and forth between himself and Sam with his hands. "It used to because we used to rely on ourselves. On each other. We could trust each other and we got by just fine." Dean sighed heavily as he placed his forehead on his closed fists. "Now you're too reliant on those foreigners. I don't feel like you trust me and I can't trust you and the choices you make."

"Dean, you can't be serious." Sam begged, his tone changing significantly. The last thing he wanted was to be separated from his big brother _again_. Even with all their fighting, Dean was Sam's only real friend and confidante. "You're just going to ditch me here?"

"Not if you leave the British Men of Letters out of this." Dean reasoned. "Not if you go with me to the zoo tonight."

"The zoo tonight?" Sam questioned.

"Yeah." Dean responded casually. "I'm going. You saw the videos. Something was there. That blur on the screen wasn't a camera malfunction and you know it. It was our culprit. And I think Melanie might have been right. That thing was clearly setting animals loose, but didn't finish the job. I bet he'll be back one of these nights and we'll bag him."

"That's the plan? Just hope he shows up while we're watching and…" Sam hesitated with a slight shake of his head. "…'bag him'?"

"Yes."

"But we don't even know what it is. We don't know if it even is a him!" Sam's voice was growing louder again. "We don't even know what hurts the S.O.B."

"Are you in or not?" Dean asked. His face was stern and unemotional as he could make it, but Sam knew Dean too well. Hell, he knew him better than he knew himself, and visa-versa probably. Dean was practically begging him to come with him. "Sam?" He asked as he waited.

Sam sighed, hating this plan. "Yes. I'm in." He said begrudgingly. "But if more people start dying because we're sitting on our hands spying through binoculars like a couple of peeping-Toms, then I'm calling the Men of Letters." Sam held out his hand. "Deal?"

"Amendment. I'll make the call when I think it's time, and I swear I'll do it if we need it so no one else gets hurt." Dean held out his right hand, pinky extended. "Deal?"

Sam stared at Dean's cocky-smile-covered face. He hated how easily Dean could get him to do whatever he wanted, but then again, Sam had gotten to do many, many things that Dean would have never done without Sam's pestering. "Deal." He placed his longer pinky around Dean's and they shook. "You're so weird."

"You love me." Dean said with a grin.

"When you're not being a jerk."

"Bitch."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Melanie Gruber had had a long day at work. Managing a zoo was hard work, but it became nearly impossible when you had a group of employees vanish and animals freed from their enclosures. She looked at the clock. It was nearly 11:00 at night, and since the happenings, the zoo had remained closed until it's no longer a crime scene. She assumed that she was now the only person in the whole park. The thought freaked her out a bit. Normally, it wouldn't have, but given all that had happened, it did.

She packed up her stuff and made a beeline for her car. She didn't want to take any detours or anything. The quicker she could be back home, away from any potential zoo threat, the better. Unfortunately, that wasn't in the cards.

As she passed the tiger exhibit, she heard a jarring noise. It sounded almost like metal scraping against metal. Obviously, such a noise was not supposed to be occurring there. While the part of her that cared first for self-preservation wanted to ignore it and run, the part of her that got her her job as a zoo manager and helped her keep it wouldn't let her ignore the noise without a glance.

She slowly approached the large, padlocked gate that ensured the security of the tigers and saw exactly what she hoped she wouldn't see. There was a tall, strange figure of a man in front of a now-busted-open gate to a tiger enclosure.

Unsure of why she was speaking or where the bravery (or stupidity) came from, Melanie's voice called out to the strange figure hidden in the night's darkness. "Get away from there!"

The tall, strange figure slowly turned and stared right into her. She couldn't make out many features in the dark, but she could make out glowing pupil-less eyes and strange, over-sized antlers. Like a deer overcompensating for a small something else. Her nerves caved as the strange figure took a step toward her. Instead of doing the intelligent thing – running away – Melanie found herself crumbling slowly to the ground, afraid for her life. There was no doubt in her mind that this was who had gotten her young employees just days before.

The dark figure waved a large staff in the air, and the two tigers from the enclosure came and stood at-the-ready on either side of the figure, like guard dogs of a sort. With the other hand, the antler-adorned figure reached out and touched Melanie's sweaty forehead.

In just a couple seconds, what was a business-minded woman, was now just a pile of office-appropriate clothing in a heap on the ground. Out of the pile of middle-class apparel stumbled a very colorful parrot, eager to get as far away from this strange figure as possible. Unfortunately, it didn't make it far before one tiger gently grabbed it in its mouth and ran off into the darkness with it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Sam and Dean pulled up in their Impala to the darkened gates of the Singleshot Zoo and scoped it out. Nothing looked immediately threatened, but there was a lot of zoo behind those gates. Donning their guns and flashlights, the brothers made their way into the zoo's innards.

The zoo was empty, which was pretty much expected, even though there was one small car left alone in the parking lot. Probably just a late-night employee trying to take care of all the day's chores. They came to the main plaza of the zoo where it split in several different directions, depending on what features one wanted to see. "You head to the reptiles, I'll go to the large cats." Dean instructed. The two paths travelled parallel to each other, but a bit apart. That way they could cover more ground, while still being within earshot and reasonable running distance from one another in the happenstance that something went down.

"Okay." Sam affirmed with a nod of his head and they broke off in separate directions. The brothers took their paths, both initially finding nothing but sleeping animals and quiet evening noises.

Dean walked by the panthers and the lions, taking a few moments to locate the gates to the enclosures without actually having to make his way into them. Both enclosures were still locked shut. He was starting to wonder if this was too much of a long shot. What criminal hits the same place two nights in a row?

Sam walked up to the glass door that led into the indoor reptilian exhibit, since the outdoor ones all seemed undisturbed and secure. He rapidly picked the lock and made his way in. Goosebumps quickly covered his arms. It seemed everyone kept the air-conditioning on high, even at night. It made since during the day since the sun heated the Montana air up to what seemed like boiling temperatures, but at night the open land became as cold as any other northern state bordering Canada. Sam was glad he had worn layers and his coat when he was outside. Inside, he wished he had brought a parka.

The exhibit had every kind of snake and salamander one could imagine, most now active since they were nocturnal. However, despite Dean's apparent certainty that something was going to be here tonight, every terrarium seemed untouched. Finishing the dark and freezing building up, Sam made his way back out into the cold-but-ever-so-slightly-warmer outdoors. The way he felt, he was just happy that there wasn't any snow.

Dean approached the tiger enclosure with his flashlight scanning every wall in search for a gate. As his flaslight zipped across the walkway that went in front of the exhibit, he noticed a pile of women's clothing lying on the ground. As much as he wished it was just a hot lady deciding to streak in the cold Montana night air, he knew what had happened. Or, he at least half-knew. That weird thing from the video, the blur, had gotten someone.

He carefully approached the pile of clothes and inspected it. There was a handbag on the ground. Knowing that it was taboo to do so for a man, he rummaged through the lady's belongings until he finally located amongst all the other essentials (lip stick, tampons, a mirror, car keys, pepper spray, hair ties, money, credit cards, gum, nail polish, tissues, and other things Dean wasn't even sure what to call) a driver's license. It read 'Melanie Gruber' and displayed a portrait of the woman Dean, known to her as Agent Brink, had interviewed just earlier. Cursing under his breath, he stood back up and carefully approached the tigers' enclosure.

Despite the cold, though not freezing weather, Dean was sweating. One could count the number of times Dean approached a pen possibly occupied by tigers on one hand by simply making a fist. Not much scared Dean a whole lot, but the idea of a tiger pouncing him in the dark wasn't a pleasant one.

When he got into the enclosure, which was torn open by the same claw marks as the night before, he found nothing. No tigers. No victims. No culprit. Just himself standing in the middle of a tiger den. As he turned to exit, he heard the distinct rumble of a tiger's guttural growl coming from the direction of the broken-open gate. Dean stopped and watched intensely as an orange and black cat made its way threateningly into the enclosure, its red eyes locked on his greens.

"Easy there, buddy." Dean said as he bent over and placed his hands out in a non-threatening manner. He slowly tried to position himself so that he could get around the tiger if he needed to run, which he figured, would definitely be a need given the luck of the Winchesters.

As he awaited the pounce of the tiger, it never came. The tiger simply stared at him, not pouncing, but not letting him through the gate either. "I'm just gonna' squeeze by you." Dean whispered as he cautiously approached the tiger, each step he took was as if he was barefoot on a floor full of tacks facing skyward. The last thing he wanted to do was make any unnecessary noise that might spur the tiger into action.

As Dean got what the tiger considered too close, it let out a loud roar, revealing large, sharp incisors and a maw full of other deadly whites. Dean could practically see his crushed neck in between those jaws. He froze in place. "Okay, okay. So you don't like me moving. I get it, I get it." He tried to calm the tiger. "I'm not moving." Dean froze. As his attention was fixed on the tiger, he didn't notice the threat coming from behind until it was already too late.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Sam came up with nothing as he finished searching the reptilian section of the zoo. Frustrated, he muttered to himself. "Shoulda' called the freakin' Men of Letters." He hated how stubborn Dean could be, but quickly remembered how stubborn Dean had been in saving his life. When Sam was destined to be the vessel for Satan and the leader of the demonic army that would destroy the world. When he was doped up on demon's blood and the entire Hunter population wanted to kill him for being a monster, Dean never budged. Dean fought and fought to protect Sam, even though Sam was doing everything Dean had asked him _not_ to do. If it wasn't for Dean's stubbornness, Sam would likely be dead now. In fact, he knew he'd be dead. He had died, but Dean was too stubborn to let him stay dead and made a deal with a demon. Regardless, at the moment, his stubbornness was just plain annoying!

As he turned to catch up with Dean, he heard a loud roar from what could have been any large cat for as much as Sam knew followed by the frightened scream of Dean. Sam froze, his heart falling from his chest rapidly into his gut, like an elevator with its cable snapped and no emergency brakes to save it. Without even thinking about it, Sam was running and shouting. "DEAN!" Nothing. "DEAN!" He shouted louder. Still nothing.

He ran through the large cats section of the zoo, desperately looking for any sign of Dean. As he approached the tiger enclosure, he saw a dark figure looming over a tiger, with another tiger sitting calmly behind him, with a large glowing staff in the air, its hand out-stretched, chanting something weird under its breath. Whatever it was was not human. Sam took a mental picture of it. Purple Skin. Tall, muscled figure. Male features. Large antlers. Feathered arms. Clawed Hand. Taloned Feet. Large Staff. Glowing Eyes. Despite taking in all the features, Sam hadn't the slightest idea what he was looking at.

 _BANG! BANG!_ Sam shot his pistol at whatever it was, deciding that he could identify it later. Now he needed to kill it. The bullets hit, but the creature seemed un-phased. However, it did seem startled. The creature booked it out of the gateway and sprinted into the woods at a pace Sam could never have hoped to keep up with. Behind him ran a tiger. Sam watched as they disappeared quickly into the night. "The hell?" Sam asked himself.

He shook his head in the cold night and could actually see his nervous sweat fly off his forehead. Right now the monster wasn't important. Dean was. For as annoying as he had been. For all the fights. For his threatening to leave Sam behind, Sammy couldn't leave him. He ran into the enclosure and didn't see anything. No monsters. No tiger. No Dean. However, as he approached the center of the enclosure, he saw something that caused his breath to stop and his lips to go dry.

Dean's clothing sat un-worn by Dean on the ground. Sam approached them and inspected them. Boots. Socks. Jeans. Underwear. Shirt. Jacket. Even the keys to the Impala were there. "Dean!" Sam cried out again.

Sam scanned his surroundings with the focus of a hawk. He checked the corners of the pen and the sleeping cave. He knew there were two tigers with that creature a minute ago. He also knew that only one had exited earlier and the only opened exit was the gate behind him. The remaining tiger had to be in here, and Sam was not about to go slinking around with a tiger on the loose.

That's when he saw it. A pair of eyes reflecting in his flashlight. He pretended not to notice it and continued moving the flashlight about as he actually took a few steps in the large cat's direction. Hopefully, the tiger wasn't that clever. "Dean?" Sam asked more calmly, not wanting to urge the cat into a panicked frenzy with his shouting. Nothing but a low growl from the tiger in the brush.

Sam slowly moved the flashlight back onto the set of eyes. _Clink._ Sam dropped the flashlight. "Oh my…" Sam whispered to himself. He knew Dean better than he knew anything else in the world. His attitude. His personality. His style. His opinions and preferences. His body. And especially his eyes.

The eyes hiding in the brush were not a tiger's eyes. They were Dean's. Green-hazel. Warm and caring, but firm and protective. Riddled with emotion, but as stoic as he could get them. Those were not a tiger's eyes. They were Dean's.

Sam took a couple steps toward it, not sure if he was crazy and was actually approaching his death, or if he wasn't crazy and that the world was crazy, and his brother was somehow now a tiger. "Dean?" At those words, Sam saw an intelligent recognition in the eyes before the large cat bolted from its hiding spot and padded out of the enclosure at a rapid speed. "Dean?!" Sam shouted. _Why the hell is he running?_ Sam wasn't sure as he watched the cat disappear into the night. _He won't get far. All the exits to the zoo are closed to anyone that doesn't have opposable thumbs._ Sam thought as he tried to figure out what to do. However this went down, Sam was pretty sure it was going to be a long, cold night.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Bearthian made his way back into the deep forests of Montana with his new tiger companion in tow. Tonight was another failed attempt to liberate his animal comrades. No matter, he had taught another human his lesson.

He traveled at the speed of a hyped-up stag as he got back to his hidden grove. Once there, he went into his den, never found before by any of the humans that came marching though his home over the years, and smiled. His second tiger companion had already gotten back and had the parrot still in its mouth. The moment Bearthian held out his clawed hand, the tiger dropped the parrot in it and followed him into the back of his underground, root-supported den where he kept the other prisoners.

He emerged into a large cavernous section lit up by hundreds of fireflies, all eager to serve Bearthian. In the large section, he had set up various pens, a bit like he had seen at the prison where the humans kept all his comrades. He had placed all the humans he had captured and morphed into cages where they would live out the rest of their lives in captivity in the forms of the creatures they had held captive.

Bearthian put the parrot in a cage that formed magically on its own out of roots that extended down into his den from the large trees above. At least the day wasn't a total waste.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Sam carefully lockpicked his way into the security headquarters of the Singleshot Zoo and snatched the security team's tranquilizer gun and as many darts as he could safely stuff in his jeans without risking stabbing himself and rendering himself unconscious. He prepared himself to venture back out into the chilly night on a tiger hunt. Or a brother hunt? _I guess both._ Sam thought to himself as he prepped the gun for use.

Fortunately, even though he had hated it as a kid, John Winchester, the boys' father, had done an excellent job training them for all things. Fighting. Stealing. Crime Solving. And yes, hunting. Both monsters and animals. Even so, Sam wasn't confident that tracking a deer and tracking a human-turned-tiger were quite the same thing. Plus, Sam was convinced by Dean's eyes alone, that even though he was a tiger, he was still just as aware as he had been as a human. As if he'd retained his human mind. He could see it in his eyes.

"Dean!" Sam hollered. "Dean!" As Sam expected, there was no response. He cried out more. "Why are you hiding?" Nothing. Sam began getting angry. "You son of a bitch." He muttered to himself. _Sorry, mom_. "I'll show you what happens to the tiger that tries to hide from me."

Determined, Sam headed into the wooded areas off the beaten path of the zoo. In the end, tracking Dean wasn't tough. If he was a human, Dean would have been nearly impossible to track down. He was a master at going off the radar. But the fact of the matter was that Dean was _not_ a human. He was a tiger. Something he had never been before. And therefore, he didn't seem to understand his body that well. While the footprints had been covered by Dean's witty intentions, there was a long swerving line in the dirt and mud likely left behind by his tail.

Sam simply followed the trail until he spotted Dean hiding in some overgrown grass on the top of a slight descent that led into a murky creek. Without giving away that he had spotted him, Sam kept pretending to search. "Dean?" He cried out loudly, as if he didn't know Dean was nearby. "Come out, you jerk!" He cried. "Don't leave your little brother alone on a hunt!" Sam's words were mostly for dramatic effect, but there was some honesty in them. Sam always felt better with Dean by his side.

The words worked slightly on the tiger. Sam caught a slight twitch, as if the tiger was debating whether or not to go to his brother. As soon as Sam saw Dean blink, he whipped the gun toward Dean and launched a tranquilizer right at him. Dean reacted with cat-like reflexes, which Sam supposed made sense given their situation, and leaped to escape down the descent into the creek. Lucky for Sam, Dean wasn't fast enough. The dart stuck in his right hip and he tumbled gracelessly down the cold, muddy slope.

Sam wasted no time in running to the edge of the dip and taking aim again. He wasn't sure how much sedative it took to put out a full-grown male tiger, but he figured two was safer than one. He could tell from where he took aim that the first one had had an effect, but Dean was still moving. Sam shot again, and confident it was going to hit, was instantly sliding down the muddy bank before Dean could pass out in the water and drown.

Dean's tiger body, flopped down in the right direction to avoid the water, but slapped right down into the gooey mud with a wet _splat_. Sam wasted no time in getting over to him and checked his pulse as best he knew how on a large cat. He was alive and fine it seemed, just sleeping, which was exactly what Sam wanted. He wasn't sure why Dean was running from him, but he wasn't going to give him the opportunity to get away.

Sam looked up the muddy incline. The Impala was up there, and that's where he needed to get Dean. But how? Sam wasn't sure how much an adult male tiger weighed, but he assumed it was more than he could lift. Regardless, he bent over to try to lift Dean, but could only manage to lift his head. Dean was no longer the muscled, rugged hunter man he used to be. Now he was far beyond that. He must have weighed a ton of solid muscle and firm bone. There was no way he could drag Dean up the muddy slope.

He had a new idea. Not necessarily a great idea, but a better idea than trying to carry a 500 pound cat up a slippery hill and possibly break his back. He squatted down by the tiger and shook him gently. "Dean." He whispered into the cat's large, floppy ears. "Dean, wake up. I need your help." He watched as his drugged-up brother's eyes squinted a bit and he stirred ever-so-slightly. "Dean." He coaxed him some more. "We need to get out of here before the police come." Dean had never liked entanglements with the police, especially not since they had thought that he was some mass murderer after a shapeshifter had taken his form and committed crimes.

The tiger woke up, but just barely. He was groggy and sleepy, barely able to fight the drugs enough to stay conscious. Sam knew his time frame was limited. He helped the huge cat stand on all fours and stagger up the muddy slope. It took them what felt like hours, and Sam had to continuously urge Dean into motion, but they had gotten the tiger into the backseat of the Impala. Sam, having grabbed Dean's clothing on the way to the car, with the help of groggy Dean, placed Dean's and his jackets under the tiger. At least then he could argue to Dean that he had tried to keep the Impala clean, but he knew the car would be a muddy mess when they were done.

Adhering to every traffic law as carefully as possible to avoid having to explain to a cop why he had a full-grown male tiger in the backseat, Sam drove back to the motel. Once there, thankful that it had started to rain because that would help conceal what he was about to do, he pulled the Impala as close to their door as he could. Convinced by a quick scan of the area that they were the only people around, Sam opened the motel room door and the Impala doors to try to get Dean inside.

Dean was as unconscious as a sack full of rocks. Sam was glad that he had placed the jackets under Dean when he had the chance. With all his might, and the help of the mud, rain, jackets, and slippery leather seats, Sam dragged the gargantuan brother-cat into the motel room, afraid he was going to throw his back out the entire time.

Back surprisingly uninjured, Sam let the cat sleep for over an hour. Not because he wanted to, but because there was no way he was moving him any farther on his own. While Dean slept, Sam kicked off his muddy boots, muddy jeans, and shirt, and tossed them in the garbage. They were beyond saving. A bit nervous about taking his eyes off the sleeping tiger, Sam filled the over-sized tub to the brim with hot water and a massive amount of soap. He stripped and took a quick bath before coming back out in his towel to find the tiger beginning to stir. This was his chance.

"Dean, I need your help one more time." Sammy whispered. Grateful that Dean was such an overprotective big brother and always responded to his little brother saying he needed help, Sammy was able to once again coax his brother into a drugged-up, zombie-like stand and led him to the bathroom. "Up you go." Sam instructed. Without even seeming to think, Dean gracelessly crawled into the tub, sending some water flowing out onto the floor.

Sam made sure to rest the tiger's enormous head was on the edge of the tub and got to work. With Dean unconscious, he was able to get the poor guy cleaned up. As it was, no one would have been able to tell he was a tiger by his fur since mud was so thickly coated on him. Sam took his hands and extra soap and began scrubbing and scrubbing the poor tiger.

He started by scrubbing off his head and back, which Dean seemed to enjoy in his sleep as he almost seemed to smile, and rolled around a bit like a big kitty enjoying a nice pet. Unfortunately for Sam, Dean's head and back were not the only parts of him that were dirty.

Sam emptied the now brown and nasty water from the tub, coaxed Dean into lying on his back in the big tub, his head resting against the wall by the faucet head. His stomach, legs, and everything else were still covered in a once-dried-now-wet-again layer of dirt and mud. Thankful that Dean was still pretty much out of it, Sam got to work. He scrubbed down Dean's belly, which again the cat seemed to like as he began kicking his leg like a dog enjoying a good belly-rub. Then he moved on to each leg and massive paw. Sam didn't spare any time as he made sure each paw was clean of mud and picked clean of any rocks or twigs caught in any crevices. Sam was both frightened and impressed by the weight and size of each of Dean's paws and claws. And that wasn't the only thing that frightened and impressed Sam. He moved on to doing something he would never have done had Dean been awake. Sam grabbed some soap and moved on to the cat's absolutely massive and prominent genitalia. The entire time he was washing the whole package off, he kept checking Dean's eyes to ensure that he was still unconscious. If Dean knew he was doing this, he'd never live it down. Regardless, as long as he didn't know how his whole body got clean, he'd appreciate being a mud-free feline.

Sam rinsed off Dean's long and muscular tail before draining and filling the tub a few more times until the water stopped turning murky. Once the water stayed clean, Sam drained the tub, leaving the most disgusting grime ring he'd ever seen, and headed back into the main room.

He sat down on his twin bed, a bit antsy for Dean to wake up so they could figure out what was going on. He turned on the TV to some mindless cartoons to try to calm down his nerves. That's when a scary thought crossed his mind. _What if that's not Dean? Did I just scrub the over-sized balls of some tiger from the zoo?_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Discontented with just punishing a few humans and not actually rescuing any animals, save the two tigers with him now, Bearthian was determined to head into the town the humans called Singleshot and free the animals he knew were under the oppressive ownership of man.

With the magic of nature in him, Bearthian turned his feathered arms into truly massive wings capable of flying him to the town faster than any set of feet could get him there. He had long tolerated humans, trying to tell himself that they were a part of nature too and they had their place. No longer could he take it. Not since he'd seen that horrible human invade his peaceful grove and assault an innocent bee. As a druid, it was his place in nature to care for the lives of all creatures, even small ones whose lives go by in a blip when compared to larger animals. Even things like bees. And to see yet another animal killed for no reason had broken the camel's back. Bearthian was stirred to action.

Once over the town, he witnessed what was worse than he expected. With his hawk-like vision and dog-like hearing he could take in it all. Nearly every home built by human hands held captive one, if not more, animals. Dogs. Cats. Gerbils. Hamsters. Snakes. Turtles. Fish. The list seemed endless. Even creatures as free as birds were held behind bars in these homes.

Bearthian flew farther. What he saw was despicable. He saw animals abandoned on the street. He saw animals abused. He saw animals being methodically killed. It was all too much. It was clear to him that his petty plan of capturing people wasn't enough. No, now he was convinced that humanity was a blight on nature and he needed to rid the world of it. He needed a new plan. A better plan. A more final plan.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

As Sam sat in his clean underwear under the sheets of the freezing cold motel bedroom watching cartoons, a very tired looking tiger came slogging out of the bathroom. _At least he's clean now._ Sam thought as he nervously watched his big brother try to learn how to walk gracefully on four legs and with a tail. He wasn't doing as poorly as Sam figured he'd do himself.

Dean's very human-tiger eyes met Sam's big browns and they both froze. Neither knew what to do. Sammy could feel the goosebumps on his skin, though he wasn't sure if that was because of the anxiety or the over-zealous air-conditioner, and the sound of the rain outside filled the empty space in their ears. He tried to speak, but couldn't make a sound. He cleared his throat nervously. "Hey." Was all he could think to say.

The tiger's mouth moved, almost like a sock-puppet trying to speak, but what came out wasn't an intelligent voice like some cartoon tiger. The noise that came out was an awkward gurgling noise, as if the cat was trying to speak, but didn't have the necessary body parts. The tiger looked confused for a minute and then embarrassed as his tail curled up behind him in shame. The reaction to the failure to speak actually comforted Sam. There was now no doubt in his mind. Somehow, this over-sized tiger was Dean and Dean still had the mental capacity he had when he was a human.

Sam jumped up from the bed and went over to Dean, and squatting down, though not as far as he thought he'd have to given just how massive tigers actually are, he looked Dean in his green eyes. "What happened?"

Dean just made more strange noises and mouth motions before giving up. He couldn't speak. "Right." Sam said. "Sorry. I know this must be strange." The tiger nodded his head adamantly to that. "At least I can understand that." Sam laughed.

Sam stood up. "Are you in pain?" The tiger stood tall and shook his head 'no' before strutting around the room like he was testing out the body, just to be sure. Sam audibly sighed. "Good." He laughed awkwardly. "You have no idea what I had to do to get you out of that creek and to the motel." At that Dean growled and reared his fangs at Sam. Sam literally jumped back a foot in honest fear. Dean saw that immediately and softened up, looking pointedly disappointed in his brother. Sam got the message. "I know, I know. You'd never hurt me." He rattled on. "It's just, this is strange, and I'm not used to being around a tiger."

Dean seemed to understand and nodded his head forgivingly. "I've learned so much more about tigers in the last few hours than in my whole life before." Sam explained. "You and I have been very close and personal since you turned into a cat." Sam laughed before shutting up suddenly, hoping that he didn't say too much.

Dean glared at Sam and then back to the bathroom, then repeated it one more time. "Yes, yes. I bathed you." Sam explained as he took a seat on the end of his bed, his skin tightening up to try to keep warm. "You have to understand. You and I were both so muddy you couldn't even see your stripes." Sam smiled at Dean. "And those are some devilishly handsome stripes, I might add." Dean seemed to stand proudly at that comment and smiled as best a tiger could.

"And Dean…" Sam started. The tiger walked closer to his brother and lifted his ears as if to show that Sam had his full attention. "I hope that you're a nice tiger like Tigger." Dean started to look confused as he tilted his massive head at an angle as he listened to the rest of what Sam had to say. "But you and I are gonna' have to put some serious cleaning work into the Impal-" Before Sam could even finish the word, he was tackled by 500-or-so-pounds of pure tiger muscle onto the bed and pinned under the snarling fangs of Dean's threatening maw. Unlike earlier, though, Sam didn't show any fear, but instead laughed. "I'm sorry, man!" He laughed. "But you were a mess!"

Dean continued to grumble for a few seconds before releasing his little brother and sitting nicely on the floor again. "You seem to be figuring out how to work your new body." Sam stated. Dean nodded his cat-head proudly to that. "I guess you have some level of animal instinct in there."

Sam watched as Dean sat in front of him and rolled his front shoulders in an awkward attempt at mimicking a human's gesture of confusion. Fortunately, Sam and Dean had a bond that went deeper than words. They had for years now. Sam knew exactly what Dean was asking. "I don't know what we do now. Not unless you know how you were turned into a tiger?"

To that, a large tiger's head nodded eagerly up and down in affirmation. "You do know?" The tiger nodded more. "Was it that strange man-thing in the enclosure at the zoo?" Sam was already pretty sure it was. What he didn't know was how or why. Dean nodded to Sam's question. "Do you know how or why?" To that, Dean's ears fell limp and his expression grew sad as he hung his head low. "No problem." Sam said perkily, to try to cheer Dean up. "I can figure this out. Trust me."

A deep growl escaped Dean's fanged maw as he took a threatening pounce position in front of his still-a-bit-nervous brother. "What?" Sam asked confused. "I'm gonna' help you. What more do you want?" Dean continued growling as he nodded his head at Sam and then back toward his own body and continued the gesture for several motions. "You wanna' help?" Dean, still growling and snarling, nodded his head up and down. "How?" Sam asked. "I'm not trying to be mean, but you're a cat now. Granted, you're a cat that likely weighs more than your car out there, you're still a cat. No thumbs, dude!" He moved his thumbs about right in front of Dean's face. Without any warning, Dean's mouth chomped down on Sam's hands as he taunted the cat with his thumbs. "Dude!" Sam shouted as he tried to pry his hands free from the tiger's enormous mouth, but with no success. It wasn't because it hurt, but because he could feel his brother's saliva soaking his hands.

Finally, Dean released his hands and sat up proudly. "You really wanna' help?" Sam asked, getting used to caving into his brother's wishes. The tiger nodded. "Fine, but that means we need to wait until tomorrow."

Dean tilted his head questioningly. "The zoo's been attacked twice now, man. If people see me with a tiger they'll assume I stole you from there." Dean tilted his head to the other direction and furrowed his bright orange and black brows. "How will we fix that? I'm not sure it'll work, but I've read of people with exotic pets, even tigers specifically. It's not illegal with the proper paperwork."

The large orange and black head nodded proudly as he understood and approved of Sam's plan. "All I gotta' do is forge the right licenses and then there's nothing stopping me from taking you out on a walk in town." Sam said. Dean wiggled in excitement that they had a plan that he could assist with. "The bad news, though." Sam added. "It's illegal to walk a pet without a leash." Dean immediately deflated at the thought. Being walked around by his younger brother, a leash around his neck like some pet was not something he was on board with. Dean glared at Sam. "Hey, man. I know you're not my pet, but the rest of the world doesn't." Sam spread his arms out wide gesturing that he didn't have any better options. "Would you rather me try to convince everyone that you're my brother turned into a tiger?"

The tiger rolled his eyes at that as best a tiger could and accepted the idea with some resentment. "Until then, I just wanna' make sure you're okay. Deal?" Again Dean rolled his eyes as Sam brought up all the health facts on a tiger that he could on his laptop. "Can you please be cool about this?" Sam asked awkwardly. Dean looked at him warily and then nodded.

Sam sat on the floor next to Dean, impressed at how Dean's tiger form loomed over him impressively. Using a flashlight, Sam checked Dean's eyes. They looked fine, though they resembled his green human eyes, which was definitely not normal, but Sam figured that didn't mean they weren't healthy. "I just wanna' make sure you're not hurt from the nasty fall you took down that slope or the double dosage of tranquilizer I gave you. Dean looked accusatorily at Sam at that moment. "Sorry, dude. I wanted to help you. Honest."

Sam began looking in Dean's ears for any obvious wounds that one didn't need to be a trained doctor to recognize. As he checked out his mouth, tongue, and fangs, Sam asked Dean a question. "Why did you run from me? Was it because we've been fighting so much?" Dean carefully, Sammy's hand still inspecting his fangs, shook his head 'no'. "Were you afraid you'd hurt me?" Dean gave Sam a 'duh' face as best a feline could and Sam laughed. "I know, man. You'd never hurt me. I meant unintentionally, like maybe you weren't sure you weren't gonna' start acting like a real tiger." Dean shook his head 'no' again.

"Paw." Sam ordered as Dean handed him one of his gargantuan paws. Sam inspected it, found some minor gashes that he cleaned and bandaged up loosely, as he kept talking to his now tiger-brother. "Then why?" Sam thought for a minute since Dean couldn't speak. That's when Dean slipped his paw back. "Hey…" Sam protested before he realized Dean was trying to communicate. Standing on his hind legs, he gently placed his paws on Sam's shoulders and then brought them back to his own massive body. Then he moved his paws up over his eyes like he was hiding in a game of peek-a-boo, and his ears bent down. "You were embarrassed?" Sam asked, surprised by Dean's honesty. Dean almost never admitted when he was feeling emotions like sadness, humiliation, or embarrassment.

Dean nodded as he handed Sam his paws again for inspection. Sam could tell by Dean's body-language that he thought this cat physical was pointless, but he obliged anyway. Sam picked out a few pebbles from around Dean's claws that he must have missed in the tub and got up.

He walked behind Dean and ran his hand down the large cat's thick spine. Dean perked up in shock at his brother's casual touch. Dean was not a touchy-feely guy on a normal day. Sam found nothing obviously wrong with Dean's spine. "Stand up." Dean obeyed and stood on all fours. Sam laid down on the floor and started to check Dean's back paws. "I'm sorry this happened to you, man." Sam said as he cleaned out a few more clumps of dirt from between Dean's toes, something a cat would normally lick out, but Sam figured Dean wasn't ready for that yet.

Dean looked down between his legs to make eye contact with Sam, and stiffened into a frozen position before carefully bounding away from Sam. Sam leaned up shocked. "Hey, what gives?"

Dean faced Sam and wouldn't say anything. "I wasn't done" Sam complained. "This is for your own good." He stood and took a couple steps toward Dean, but the tiger just took a couple steps back. "You were doing so well. What's gotten into you?"

Sammy watched as the tiger fidgeted and made awkward faces at him. Sam wasn't understanding until Dean finally stuck his rear high in the air and looked between his legs to his back. Then Sam understood. "Ooooh." Sam exclaimed. Dean had yet to examine himself as a tiger and upon seeing his balls had become completely uncomfortable with his brother's head being so close. "You're a tiger now, dude. Unless you plan on having me buy one of those ridiculous outfits snobbish ladies dress their poodles in, then those bad boys are gonna' be dangling for all to see all the time." Sam could see how uncomfortable this all made Dean. "Sorry, man. Think of it this way, you got what I think you and every other guy has always wanted. I'm pretty sure you've got the biggest balls in all of mankind." Sam laughed. "Though I guess you're not really a part of mankind now, are you?"

Dean bared his fangs at that. Sam apologized through a light giggle. "Sorry, too soon?" Sam approached Dean. "Now, unless you plan on licking yourself to get the junk I'm digging out of between your toes out, then stand up, hold still, and remember I'm your brother. Tiger or not." With that, Dean uncomfortably froze and let Sam finish his work. "Though, unless you want me to have to dig shit out of your paws regularly, you will need to start licking yourself." Sam stifled laughter. Despite the truth in his words, it was still a funny thought. He watched as Dean's big, orange head looked down between his front paws back at him and glared. Sam understood it to mean something along the lines of _I'd sooner die before licking myself._

After a few minutes, Sam was done and stood up. He placed a hand on Dean's back and felt the fur was still kinda' wet. He went over to his bag and grabbed the brush he used on himself in the mornings. He loved that brush and took great pride in his long, well-kept hair, but he was willing to sacrifice it to save his brother from having his fur dry in the cold air and end up looking like some fluffy poodle. "Come here, Dean. One last thing so you don't fluff up like a cotton ball." Sam waited for Dean to begrudgingly stand in front of him and let him brush him. Once done, Sam climbed into his bed. "Can I do anything for you, Dean?" He hated what his brother was going through, but was glad that he had managed to orchestrate it so Dean wasn't handling this all alone.

Dean shook his head as he bounced effortlessly onto the opposite bed and sprawled out, finding himself to be much longer than the bed when stretched to his full length. "Tired?" Sam asked and received an obvious answer as Dean let out a long cat-yawn and smacked his chops together in a sleepy bedtime ritual. "I guess so. I'll turn the lights off, okay?" Dean just wagged his tail up and down, a subtle gesture that wasn't missed by Sam. "Looks like you're learning that body pretty well." He laughed as he shut the lights off. "Don't worry. You won't have to learn it too well. Before you know it, we'll have you back to normal."

Sam rolled over and pulled the covers up as tightly as he could to fight off the freezing air pouring in all around him from the raging air-conditioner. "Good night, jerk." Sam said through a yawn. All that came in the form of an answer was a quick feline-grunt that Sam knew the meaning of. He smiled and went to sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Bearthian found his way to the back entrance to the Singleshot Veterinarian Clinic. His acute senses made him fully aware that there were two women and a man of the human race still in there, as well as a large number of animals. That wouldn't remain as such for long.

Using his clawed hand, he broke the back door's lock and let himself in. He found himself in the pet boarding room. Seeing the various animals in cages, Bearthian's rage arose from the depths of his heart. With a powerful wave of his feathered arms and a bit of his druid magic, all the cages burst open and the household pets spilled out to a freedom they didn't know what to do with.

Leaving the newly liberated animals to discover the world on their own for the time being, Bearthian made his way into the rest of the clinic. The moment his monstrous figure entered into the room, one of the female vets screamed bloody murder.

Almost immediately, since the facility was so small, the other two workers had shown up to figure out what was going on. Both their eyes fell on the druid and screams burst from their mouths as well. Bearthian wasted no time in forcing the three vets down to their knees as mystical cocoons, as only a druid could summon, formed around their terrified bodies.

In just a few seconds the cocoons completed and the screams ended. With a force of his willpower, the druid transformed the three humans into dryads. As the cocoons opened, out came three dryads. The women had the torsos of women, though their skin was now a light purple, similar to Bearthian's, though not as dark, and they had the bottom-halves of deer. Their eyes were as empty as Bearthian's and their hair was made up of thin, fine vines with flowers sprouting out of them in various places. Both were now armed with a toxic-tipped spear made of a mystical wood woven by the ancient druids.

The guy was similar. He had the muscled torso of a man, though his skin was light purple like the females, and a layer of green, grass-like hair covered his chest. He had large antlers on his head like Bearthian and also shared his eyes. The bottom half of him was that of a dominant stag capable of bounding him places at a rapid speed. In his hands were dual rapiers made from the same mystical wood as the females' spears.

"It is time we make the humans pay." Bearthian addressed his new minions. No more explanation was needed. The dryads were born to do the bidding of the druids. Though three was a small number, whatever power that saw it fit to create the druids had given them a limited creating power. Three would have to do. Given how the humans in doctors in the clinic reacted, he figured three was more than enough.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Sam clung to the thin blanket of his arctic motel room bed, trying to get back to sleep, but unable. The loud chattering of his teeth and the countless worries and concerns regarding his newly transformed brother and the old fights they were always barred him from slumber. He whispered to himself to try to relax. "We're gonna' get through this. We always do."

Unknown to Sammy, his whispers, which would have been very close to inaudible to the human ear, fell on Dean's easily. Sam shivered and curled up, trying to warm himself as Dean watched him through his fierce, but gentle feline eyes.

Sam's eyes shot open as a large shaking of the bed bounced him around. He looked up to find a 550 pound, 11 foot long tiger climbing into bed with him. Dean curled up next to Sammy and purred by him. Sam could feel just how soft and silky Dean's striped fur was. What was the best were the incredible warmth Dean's body emanated and the comforting vibration of his deep purr, unlike any common housecat.

Dean wrapped his body around Sam as best he could to act as a blanket without crushing him under his new-found weight. Dean's big, furry head rested just above Sam's on his pillow and Sam reached out and stroked his thick neck. Sam knew what Dean was responding to, more than just Sam's chattering teeth, so Sam repeated it. "It'll be okay, Dean. We always get through it." The tiger let out a deep sigh at that and purred more. Sam knew he was agreeing. "And thanks, by the way." Sam could tell Dean didn't know how to respond to that, so after a long awkward pause, Sam felt a bristly, wet tongue slide up his cheek and over the top of his head before retreating back into the big maw it came from. Sam laughed. "Try to get some sleep. We'll get you fixed up before you know it."

Before long, Sam was passed out again. Finally, he was warm and cozy. Dean faded in and out of sleep, wary to zonk out in case whatever had gotten him at the zoo came back to finish the job, or worse, came for Sammy. Instead, he kept guard in the half-sleep only cats can do.

Dean let out a strange airy breath as he attempted to giggle lightly. While he was a human, he would have never allowed Sam to do so, but as a cat, it seemed okay. Sam was curled all around Dean like a little girl clinging to her favorite teddy bear for dear life through a bad dream. Dean allowed Sam to rest his head on his feline chest and wrap his arms and even a leg around the rest of him. He lowered a large paw protectively and gently over his body to keep him secure and rested his head on Sam's pillow. While being a tiger may not have been ideal, Dean figured there were some good sides to it.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Bearthian and his dryads studied the way of the humans through distant, but focused eyes. It didn't take them long to understand that nearly every human kept animals captive, but most were just small-fries, and mostly treated their prisoners well. What they took note of were the big offenders, like the place where the now-dryads used to work.

The druid honed an angry eye in on big-time cattle ranchers, vets, animal boarding services, and animal control. These were the people, along side the animal abusers, that Bearthian needed to handle first. After they were taken care of, the rest could follow as necessary.

None of the dryads needed verbal instructions. They knew what their job was. Armed with deadly toxic and sharp weapons, they headed out of the deep forest and into Singleshot to take care of business.

Only one thing was really worrying Bearhtian. While he had never encountered any himself due to his isolated life up to this point, he had heard from other druids, shamans, and forest spirits all about Hunters. He knew they were incredibly dangerous, even to someone as powerful as a druid.

Bearthian assumed the two men he had encountered at the big animal prison, the zoo, were Hunters. They didn't react with the same fear as the rest of the humans did, nor did they seem nearly as unprepared. While he got lucky that they were ill equipped, he wasn't about to let them run free. However, since he was never able to finish the transformation magic on the man he turned tiger, the beast wasn't under his control. That was a problem. So for now, he'd have to leave them be.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Sam woke up in the warmth of Dean's fur at about 4:00 a.m. as he felt Dean squirming about. "Dean?" Sam whispered. "Are you okay?" Dean stopped squirming and let out a quiet whimper. Sam turned the bedside lamp on and looked at Dean. Dean and Sam were wrapped all around each other like a boy and his dog, but his tiger-brother looked uncomfortable. Sam recognized the look. It was a universal look. "You need to pee, don't you?"

Dean looked embarrassedly at his little brother. "Nothing to be ashamed of. I gotta' go too." Sam stood up in his boxers and looked at the bathroom. That was not going to work for a eleven-foot long tiger weighing over 500 pounds. He looked out the front window. The rain had stopped and it was quiet and still. The motel was next to an undeveloped and pretty-well-hidden lot with plenty of trees and foliage. He cracked the door open and looked both ways. The night was dead. "We can go together, like a couple of grade school girls." Sam laughed at himself and he was pretty sure he saw the tiger attempt another eye-roll.

Carefully, Sam and Dean crept out of their motel room into the cold night. There wasn't a car on the street or a soul in sight. Dean's head continuously pressed into Sam's butt as he pushed his brother along faster. Apparently, he _really_ needed to go.

They reached the edge of the woods and stood next to each other. "Don't laugh at me. You have an unnatural size advantage now." Sam laughed as he prepared himself for a whiz. He looked at Dean who looked back at him a bit unsure. Sam paused. "What? You don't know how to go?" Dean just rolled his front shoulders in an embarrassed shrug.

Sam looked around. "I won't laugh no matter how you do it, but I'm not sure how a tiger pees." Sam admitted. "Maybe like a dog?" Dean just shrugged again. "Give it a try." Sam began pissing quietly in the brush when suddenly what sounded like a fire hose burst on the brush next to his stream. "Holy shit, man!" Sam explained, slightly ashamed of his by-comparison meager tinkle.

Sam finished up and waited for what felt like minutes for Dean to finish. Finally, Dean lowered his leg and stood comfortably next to Sam. "Better?" The little brother asked. The tiger just nodded and did his best at nodding his head. "Good, then lets get inside, my feet are freezing."

Before Sam could even walk, he felt Dean's head slide under and between his legs, lifting his 6'4" body straight off the ground with obvious ease and carried him back to the motel like some cowboy's trusted steed. Only this cowboy and steed had a bond closer than even The Lone Ranger and Silver.

"Thanks, man." Sam said cheesily. "I know we've been fighting a lot recently. And I'm sorry. And I know we might fight more in the future…" Sam spoke and watched as Dean's gentle eyes and striped head listened intently. "…but I know we'll get through this." He smiled warmly at his feline brother. "Together. Hell, you've been a cat for mere hours and we already figured out how to pee! Nothing can stop us now."

Dean nodded energetically as they entered into their room again before losing the excitement and looking back out the motel window. Sam knew what he was thinking. "I know, brother. That monster's still out there. We'll take care of that too. Tomorrow's gonna' be our day, but it's only 4:15 in the morning. No offense to you, but Dad never let me keep a pet. I'm gonna' sleep and snuggle with you so much it might just kill you. No alarm. No wake up calls. We're gonna' sleep until we don't anymore, then we'll get to the bottom of this. Okay?"

While this typically wasn't the Winchester motto, tonight it seemed good to both of them. Dean offered up a paw to Sam. After just a second of pondering, Sam figured it out. With an agreeing smile, Sam gave Dean a heavy high-five. Together, they cuddled back into bed and Sam was out like a light before Dean could even finish wrapping his tail around his kid brother.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Curtis Shawn investigated the Singleshot Zoo's tiger enclosure. While it certainly wasn't unheard of radicals to trespass and set animals loose from zoos, it was not common either. But this was definitely a rare occasion. The same zoo had been hit two nights in a row. Both times the criminal was never caught- not even on camera apparently.

As the head of Singleshot's animal control unit, it was his job to figure out what was going. Not in the sense that he was after the culprit, but rather he needed to figure out what happened to the two tigers that went missing. If tigers were running around town, that was a problem, and it was animal control's job to get it handled.

Unfortunately, it had rained pretty hard the night before, so any clear evidence of the tigers' travels had been thoroughly washed away. The surrounding areas were riddled with deep forests. Tracking down these tigers would be impossible. Some zoos used GPS trackers tagged to their animals to keep their whereabouts known at all times, but unfortunately, Singleshot Zoo didn't have the funds for that kind of luxury.

Examining the enclosure, he came up with little that led him in the direction of the big cats, and by little, it meant nothing. There were just some odd claw marks, like that of a large bear's over where the gate's lock was, which was incredibly odd and raised a lot of curious questions, but ultimately didn't give him the slightest clue as to where the tigers headed off to.

If it had been something like a bear that, for some odd reason, managed to break into the tigers' enclosure, there would have been a fight. Only a rabid bear would willfully break into a tiger den. If there was a fight, there would be signs, likely even after a rain storm. Blood and clumped up fur weren't so easily washed away, especially with as little storm drains as the area had. However, Curtis saw nothing of the sort. So he was stuck clueless. "Lucy!" He called. His voice was deep and gravelly.

"Yessir?" Answered a petite, black-haired woman with pale skin and bold red lipstick. She ran to his side like an eager secretary, though that wasn't her job formally.

"There's nothing here." He explained. "We're going to have to organize a city-wide search. If that doesn't result in anything, we'll have to take it into the woods. Call in to base and have them prep for a briefing."

Ignoring his army-like attitude toward his work, Lucy Parquette did as she was told, making sure that maps, files, tiger facts, weapons summaries, and of course, Curtis' coffee were all ready for them by the time they got to the rather impressive and rightly coined facility that Curtis labeled 'base'. Montana had enough dangerous and large wildlife that a rather impressive animal control was warranted. While in Indiana, if a cat was up in a tree it might be as large as a Siamese, or, in the extreme case, a Bobcat, in Montana it could be as big as a cougar, or near the zoo apparently, a tiger. It was good to have an animal-catching squad ready at a moment's notice.

With those orders taken care of and a couple of pictures of the zoos two tigers in hand, Curtis ordered his men, and Lucy, back to the office. They had a lot of work to get done, and if it all went well, they'd have either two cats back in their cage, or two cats sent to the morgue. Either way, Curtis' job would be done and he could give himself a nice 'ole pat on the back.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Sam woke up lazily late, 9:17, as the LED alarm clock would read, which was shamefully late for a Winchester, but even so, Dean was right there with him. However, Dean wasn't sleeping. He had been up for hours, just watching over his little brother. He wasn't sure if it was his Hunter instincts or his feline intuition, but he could feel that something was odd in the air. Something unusual was calling him, but it was just a faint call in the back of his head. Nothing his very-human reason couldn't push out.

Dean greeted Sam with a long, wet, sticky good-morning lick that left visible drool down the side of his face and matted his hair up like some British rock star. "Naaaaasty!" Sam complained through a bunched up face. "Good morning to you, too." He expelled hot breath as if he was visibly sick. "Gosh, you need to brush your teeth!"

Dean's head jolted back as if saying 'You're one to talk' and Sam understood him. Dean emphasized his point by leaning in real close and sniffing Sam's mouth before closing his eyes tightly and sticking out his huge feline tongue. "Yeah, yeah. I'll brush my teeth too."

Sam crawled reluctantly out from under his big brother and the soft, warmth his fur provided into the frigid air of the motel room. Dean eagerly followed him and they both listened as the bed squeaked and groaned as the combined weight of an about 500-and-something pound tiger and a 160 pound young man relieved it of its strenuous duty.

Sam headed to the bathroom before he noticed Dean wasn't following him. "Dean?" He looked back and saw the tiger gently, but purposefully pawing at the door. "Another bathroom break?" Sam asked. "But you haven't had anything to eat or drink before you became a cat, have you?"

Dean shook his head back and forth, which made Sam feel a bit guilty. Dean had the appetite of a tiger when he was just a gluttonous man. Now he actually _was_ a tiger. Sam had to figure Dean was starving, but was being incredibly patient with him since they were both new to this.

Sam checked both sides of the motel to find that they appeared to still be the only two residing there. Even so, he opened the door and they carefully made their way back to their outdoor bathroom foliage. First, because Sam didn't want anyone to see him in just his briefs. That was reserved for his brother and any girl he was killing some time with. Not the whole world. And second, because Sam was being followed by a gargantuan tiger that was likely almost 11 feet long. That gave Sam an idea for the walk back.

They got to their brush and went about their business. What was normally a man-culture faux-pas didn't seem so off-limits now, or Sam just cared less. He unabashedly watched Dean pee with a strange intrigue. He was a tiger pissing like a dog with the awareness of a human. It was an odd sight to see. Dean noticed his brother watching him and Sam could have sworn the tiger blushed. "What?" Sam defended himself. "I'm sorry, it's just so weird. You're a tiger peeing like a dog. You can't blame me for looking. Plus, it sounds like you have a fire hose going over there. Where's all that liquid coming from?"

Dean seemed to swell with pride at those words and continued his business as Sam finished and waited patiently. After a couple more minutes, Dean was done and the brothers carefully made their way back to the motel room. Before they got there, as they walked under outdoor wrap around portico that shielded all patrons as they entered and exited their room, Sam stopped and looked up.

"These are standard rooms, Dean." The feline looked up at him showing no sense of understanding where he was going with this. "That means the flat roof should be 10-feet high. Let's figure out how tall you are." Sam had seen the other tigers at the zoo. They were big, but Dean seemed oddly and maybe supernaturally bigger in every way imaginable. Where the other tigers stood at what Sam would have guessed to be about three-feet-tall when resting on all fours (a height placing them around Sam's waist), Dean was clearly taller. Dean rested at the middle of Sam's stomach, approximately four-feet-tall in height.

Looking around to be extra careful they weren't spotted by anyone, Sam led Dean out from under the portico roof and into the gravel parking lot. "Can you reach that roof?" Sam asked, knowing that if he could, Dean was at least a ten-feet-long tiger. Dean pushed with his front paws until he was standing on his hind legs with his paws easily resting on the top of the portico roof. Dean well exceeded ten-feet in length. Dean was actually able to look at the top of the roof, as his eyes just barely reached over the precipice.

"Holy shit, dude!" Sam exclaimed in amazement as Dean gracefully brought himself back onto the ground, done being a circus performer. "I don't know the exact length, but you're probably around 11-feet-long or so, and that's not even including your tail. I think you're the largest Bengal tiger in the whole world. Dean did what Sam could only describe as a 'cat dance', clearly proud of his un-worked-for claim to fame.

"I wonder why that thing would make you into such a huge tiger. Wouldn't he want to make you into something defenseless? Or just kill you?" Sam watched as Dean sat carefully on his hind legs, like a circus performing cat, and patted his chest with his big front mitts. "Possibly." Sam agreed. "Maybe it is out of his control and his victims just turn into whatever animal suits their personality." Sam speculated. "And you're an above-average man by human standards, so maybe that translated into your tiger body?"

Dean bobbed his head back and forth in a 'maybe' gesture before getting rigid and excited and looking out toward the town. "Oooooh." Sam exclaimed as a thought crossed his mind. "You think that the other victims aren't dead? Just transformed?" Sam asked. "That would make sense." Sam nodded a bit surprised even to himself that the idea of people being transformed into animals 'makes sense' in his line of work.

They reentered their bedroom and let some light in. "How about I shower up and stuff, then get us something to eat, and then we get to work?" Sam suggested. Dean hopped up and down excitedly at the mention of food. With each hop the entire room rumbled as if a car was being bounced like a basketball on the floor. "Dang, I just cannot get over how huuuuuge you are." Sam stated again in bewilderment. Dean beamed with pride again. It was clear, that us much as it likely sucked to be an animal, Dean did enjoy hearing Sam comment on how 'huuuuuuge' he was.

Sam stripped and headed into the bathroom. He left the door open, just in case Dean needed something in his new tiger body. After all, for all the grace Dean was miraculously showing in his feline form, the fact of the matter was that he was brand new to the whole thing. "Call if you need anything, okay?" Sam called out as he turned the shower on in the over-sized tub. He almost debated taking a bath since the tub was so big and had those snazzy jets in the side making it almost seem to be a hot tub, but the ring of mud and dirty tiger fur dissuaded him from that.

Sam stood under the hot shower, glad to be out of the cold air of the motel room for a bit before he actually started shampooing his long hair. He closed his eyes and leaned back into the stream of hot water to rinse his hair off before he was nearly knocked off his feet by a sudden heavy force. He opened his eyes and saw Dean's massive form standing scrunched-up in the tub with him. "Dean!" Sam shouted. "What are you doing? I'm trying to shower!"

Dean just looked at him with pleading eyes. "Cats don't need showers man! That's why they lick themselves! That's why your tongue is so bristly."

Without budging from the tub, Dean stuck his tongue out as he stared at his now outstretched paw before his face. He took one slow lick and his face scrunched up. Dean Winchester may have been an over-sized housecat now, but he was not licking himself!

Dean maneuvered himself between Sam's legs so that he could fit his whole long body into the tub better and looked up at his little brother, who was now forced to stand straddling him. "Dude!" Sam cried out. "Personal space. I'm naked!" Dean looked at him with squinted eyes and a tail that gestured toward Dean's large body. "You're always naked now?" Sam asked. "I know." Then Dean rubbed his head against Sam's thigh. "Yes, I know I was snuggling with you while you were naked last night, but that was different." Dean shook his head in disagreement.

Sam finally caved in, as it seemed he always did. "Fine." He groaned. "But the only balls you'll be licking are your own!" Sam warned, which induced a disgusted face from his brother and an out-stuck tongue. "I'm just joking." Sam sighed as he caved in even more to his big brother's wishes. Wishes that Dean would _never_ had even dreamed of, not even in his worst nightmares, in his human body. Sam figured being a cat just made things different. "I'll make sure to wash you off." Sam whined lightly. "But you owe me for this!" He warned. The tiger yipped excitedly and appreciatively.

Standing with a giant tiger between his legs, trying not think about how that tiger was actually his once-very-human brother, Sam finished washing himself before 'suddzing up' Dean's gorgeous striped coat. Surprisingly to Sam, Dean began purring like a giant housecat. It must just be an animal thing to love being petted. It was no real shock to him. Almost every human loves a good back-scratch or massage, and what were those if not the human equivalent to being petted?

As Dean continued his purr-serenade for Sam, the little brother finished rinsing the big tiger off as best as he could since neither of them were really able to move. Dean was just too big! The fact that he managed to squeeze himself in the tub and under Sam at all was just another testament to how clever and resourceful Dean was, even as a tiger.

They both exited the now-fur-laden tub, which Sam was certain would need to be Drain-O'd after they checked out due to the abundant size of Dean's body and the countless fur that covered it. Sam looked at the small motel towels and sighed as he could feel the goosebumps setting in on his wet body. There was not going to be enough towel to go around, so he figured he'd let Dean use it all. After all, if Sam dried wet, no biggie. If Dean dried wet, he'd have to start calling him Fluffie.

Sam squatted down in front of his brother and began toweling off the very obviously appreciative cat. Even just drying the tiger off, each towel they had was soaked through, but it did a good enough job. Sam grabbed his brush and brushed down Dean's coat before brushing his own hair.

Sam stood and looked down at the 500-or-so pound tiger in the bathroom with him. "Hungry?"


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

The folks at First Stop Animal Hospital went about their daily tasks of caring for people's sick pets. An elderly woman brought in a cat in her hands that looked down-right miserable. The female clerk behind the desk couldn't help but greet the feline with a sympathetic 'awwwww' before getting the woman all signed in.

The cat was ushered to the back as the elderly woman, preferring to stay in her seat due to her arthritis, remained in the lobby. She grabbed a small crossword puzzle book and let her attention fade into answering the trivia questions for each row and column.

Before anyone could react by running, the front door busted in and a strange creature, half woman – half deer, raced in. She mercilessly stabbed every human in the waiting room before prancing into the back where the workers were.

Agitha Brown dropped her crossword puzzle and fell to the floor. She looked at the stab wound on her shoulder. She was no doctor, but she was pretty sure that the spear hadn't done any fatal damage to her. As she peered across the lobby through her purple-framed glasses, she noticed that almost every other customer had suffered similar flesh-wounds.

It wasn't long before a man across the room began vomiting. Then he started frothing at the mouth. Then he convulsed violently before finally falling limp. Dead. The room grew so nervous Agitha could almost touch it in the air. One-by-one others began going through the same stages before falling dead.

Agitha used what little strength she had to crawl her way out of the building, expecting to start suffering the same symptoms as the others, but never did. She called 9-1-1 and hid behind her car as she waited.

After a few moments, the animal hospital fell silent of all violence and screams, which Agitha assumed meant everyone was thoroughly dead. The police arrived with an ambulance and quickly raced her to the hospital. When they asked her what had happened, she gave them the honest truth, but she could tell by their expressions, they weren't buying it. They were figuring her to be some senile, delusional old lady. The thought upset her, but at the end of it all, she was just grateful to have been rescued.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Having made his run to grab food (a hefty amount of Dean's favorites from the nearest fast-food joint), some gas for the Impala, some cleaning supplies for the poor thing's leather seats, and a personally-made exotic animals license as an attempt at getting by with the world's largest tiger without getting in any trouble with the law, Sam entered the motel room feeling like a normal family with a pet dog. Dean was eagerly waiting on the other side of the door sniffing fervently to find the food Sam had brought. No doubt the massive cat-of-a-brother was starving. Sam had read online that tigers, as well as other big cats, ate multiple times their size in meat every day, not because they were victims of gluttony, but because they actually needed it to move their massive bodies the way they did.

Dean had eaten nothing for nearly 24 hours. Sam was positive he was absolutely famished. "Don't worry, dude. I got you your munchies before you start considering eating me." Sam laughed. Dean didn't. Sam turned to the tiger, appalled. "Wait. You didn't seriously consider eating me!? After all that I've done for you!" Sam was floored by his brother who simply licked his chops with an audible smacking noise. "You're unbelievable." Dean only lulled his tongue in an attempt at laughing.

"Anyway, here you go." Sam offered Dean several bags full of several pounds of meat. "I know it probably won't be enough, but we just don't have the funds to buy 500 pounds of food." Dean shrugged it off and dug in while Sam booted up his laptop.

To Sammy's surprise, he heard the sound of the TV turn on. He looked back at the bed he had left all the food on and found Dean sitting there, mouth full of burger, and a claw very carefully navigating the remote. Even as a dangerous Bengal tiger, Dean could play the role of Winchester couch potato.

Sam laughed to himself before getting to work. The reason they came here was because people had gone missing in the Montana woods, the most recent being John Draily. Using the nice tools of his laptop, Sam managed to bring up a layout of the woods on his screen so he could see the woods and mountains around the area. Following the reports from the news and the ones he had hacked from the police database, he was able to mark the locations of all the hikers that went missing over the last few years, which were all within a pretty relatively close proximity to each other off of the same trail. This didn't surprise Sam at all. Whatever that creature from the zoo was must have come from that area of the woods.

"Okay, so if he came from the woods, like three miles north of here…" Sam started. "Then why is he terrorizing people in Singleshot now?" Sam looked over at a shrugging tiger staring out the window. "I mean, what gives?" He turned back to the computer. "And why turn people into tigers? I don't get it."

Before Sam could open his mouth to ask another question, the window to their motel room, which was a large wall-window, shattered into pieces as an enormous bull charged through. The bull charged straight toward Sam as if it was on a mission. Sam hadn't even managed to turn around in his seat to see what was happening before the sharp fangs of a fast-moving tiger were already tightly clenched around the collar of his shirt and bounding him to safety. While Sam couldn't hear or sense the bull approaching, Dean had already been on red alert, focusing inside his head.

The bull crashed into the chair that Sam had been sitting in as he watched from behind and under Dean's protective frame, still a bit uncertain of what was happening. Luckily for him, Dean was already fully aware of the situation and ready to react.

The bull brought itself to a halt and turned to Sam, as if he had a red bullseye on his forehead. Ignoring that fact for the moment, Sam watched as Dean turned around, facing Sam with less than inches between their faces, grabbed the front of his shirt collar and leapt with him back onto the bed, just before the bull trampled over the place he had been sitting just seconds later.

The tiger roared mightily at the bull in a way that Sam didn't expect Dean to be able to. Up to this point, all Sam had heard out of Dean were purrs, quiet growls and snarls, some strange attempts at human expressions, and a few whimpers. To hear him sound so thoroughly fierce was a little jarring to Sam. It seemed Dean was really becoming fluent with his tiger body.

This time, Dean acted first. He pounced on the back of the bull and sank his claws deep into the large bovine. The scene before Sam looked like some circus performance-turned-rodeo as the bull bucked and jerked around the room, trying to force the 500 pound tiger off his back.

Sam watched as the bull nearly succeeded in throwing Dean off and shouted over the loud stomping noises. "Use your teeth!" Sam shouted as he made an exaggerated biting face to Dean. "Your teeth!"

Dean got the point and sank his fangs into the neck of the bull, not killing it, but fastening himself onto it so he couldn't be thrown off. Sam watched over the next few seconds as the bull stopped bucking and collapsed down to the ground. Dean was simply too heavy for even a bull to hold up. The size of a tiger had truly been lost on Sam until Dean's transformation. It occurred to him how easily Dean could have crushed him in his sleep had he carelessly rolled onto him or something of that nature, or when he had pounced him in faux-anger the other night. But he hadn't hurt Sam in the slightest. Not one bruise or scratch. The delicate care Dean took around his brother was not un-noted by Sam.

Once the bull was totally pinned under Dean's tonnage, Sam found his gun under his pillow and blew a bullet-hole into the bull's skull, noticing the bull's eyes were a dark red. Sam lumbered over to Dean and collapsed into the tiger's soft, striped coat. "The hell was that?" Sam sighed shakily. Dean slowly slumped down into a lounging position, careful that Sam didn't slip off his side as he rested. "It was like it wanted me specifically."

Dean looked back at his post-adrenaline-rushed brother and let his mouth slide into an unsure frown. It was clear to Sam that Dean hadn't a clue what had just happened. Sam shifted gears. "You were awesome back there, man." Sam said through another shaky exhale. Dean shook his rump proudly, jostling Sam a bit.

"This isn't gonna' look good on our bill." Sam stated. Dean looked back with a little fear in his big, green eyes and shook his head. Sam laughed as he felt like Shaggy and Scoobie-Doo seemingly magically communicating back and forth. "I know it wasn't our fault." Sam explained. "But it'll still look bad." Sam started to stand. "We need to get ahead of this." He headed to the door. "You, go hide in the brush behind the motel where we pee." And pointed in that direction. "I'm going to explain what just happened and get us a new room."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Switching rooms was a lot less painful than Sam expected. The motel owner had claimed that they raised enough cattle in Montana that his insurance would cover a cattle stampede, which was what he planned on chalking this up to. The younger Winchester pulled the (thankfully undamaged) Impala up to the new room and moved all his stuff in. The first thing he did was try to adjust the freezing temperature, but found the same situation was at hand. The room's arctic climate couldn't be thawed.

Once settled in, he snuck around back and looked for Dean. His heart skipped a beat when he saw no sign of the big cat. "Dean?" He asked in a panicked tone. "Dean!?" His voice grew louder. Had the strange creature gotten away with his brother? Before he could enter a full-on frenzy, Dean sauntered out of the brush as if nothing had happened. Sam let out a deep sigh of relief. "Dean, what the hell?" He placed his hand on his heart. "I thought I'd lost you."

The tiger gave him a confused look and then looked back at the brush. "Yeah, I know I told you to hide." Sam admitted. "I guess I just didn't realize how well a tiger your size could hide." Together they walked back to the room, Sam noticing that he was actually scratching behind Dean's big ear as they walked alongside each other. They were getting too comfortable with the way things were. He laughed to himself. With the lives they lived, it was best to just take everything with the best construction possible.

After having snuck back into the old room unnoticed to grab whatever food remained, Dean returned to the new room and lounged on the bed closest to the TV with the news on. Sam scoured the internet for any clues as to what the purple-skinned creature was. It was obvious it had some animal-connection or a connection to nature, but that wasn't a ton to go on. There were lots of things with a strong connection to the animal kingdom or nature as a whole. The internet brought up Wisps, Treants, Fairies, Dryads, Elves, Dark Elves, Shapeshifters, Damonwoods, Witches, Druids, gods, and so many more things Sammy was entirely unfamiliar with. There were some things that Sam could cross off: Shapeshifter, Fairies, Treants, and Damonwood. This was because they'd either already hunted one before or because they had a very unique appearance, such as treants and damonwoods both looking like trees. Sam doubted the man was a witch because he didn't really look entirely human. The list was still pretty long, though.

As Sam kept researching, Dean caught a blip of the news. It stated that their had been an unexplainable massacre at a local animal hospital. It seemed that everyone had been stabbed by an unknown assailant and died of poison. There had been one survivor: Agitha Brown, but they wouldn't release her statement. Dean let out a quick yip to get Sammy's attention, who quickly dropped his work on his laptop and focused on the newscast.

"This looks like our kinda' thing." Sam stated. "And it's at another place that is centered around animals. I bet it's the work of our mystery monster man." Dean nodded his agreement as Sam wrote down the name of the survivor. Agitha Brown. They'd be interviewing her later.

"What do you think, Dean?" Sam started. "Should we head over and investigate?" Dean gave a questioning head-cock to that. "I don't know what we'll do with you?" Sam asked, surprised that he hadn't considered that before spurring to action. He was just getting too used to having a tiger around as if it was normal. "I can do the investigation myself. You can chill here." Dean growled at that. "What? You can watch TV or something." Sam argued.

Dean tried to roll his eyes at that and pointed with one heavy paw to Sammy. "Me? You're worried about me?" Sam laughed lightly. "Dude, I'm not some helpless kid. I've hunted alone before." Dean bounced unhappily on the bed, causing a loud creaking noise to be birthed from the over-worked springs in the mattress, as he pointed to himself with the same big paw.

"I know you've worked alone before and still got got by the bad guy." Sam admitted. "And it's debatable whether or not you're the better Hunter." Sam smirked, knowing that in reality, Dean was definitely the best Hunter likely in the whole world, but he'd never admit that out loud. "I'll be fine."

Dean roared at that, effectively making Sam stumble back into the chair by his laptop. "I'm sorry, dude." Sam said, recomposing himself as Dean hopped off the bed and walked heavily over to his little brother. "What do you want me to do?"

Dean rubbed against Sam's leg like a housecat that wanted something from his master, though Dean would _never_ call Sammy his master. "Dude, you know I can't take you with me. The exotic pets license is just in case. It's not an excuse to bring you around everywhere." Sam placed a now-seemingly-little hand when compared to Dean's size on the tiger's big head and scratched it. "What if I call for help." Sam suggested as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I could call Mom or the British Men of Letters." He said absently, not really considering who he was saying that in front of. As he browsed down the list of contacts on his phone (all work relations, no friends) a mighty, clawed paw smacked the phone hard out of his hand. Sam furrowed deeply as the phone hit the carpeted floor with a _thud_ and looked up to his striped brother.

"What's the deal?" Sam hollered. "You still don't think we could use the help of the British Men of Letters?" Sam argued. "Come on, man! You're a freaking cat now!" He gestured wildly with his hands at the obvious form of a tiger standing before him. "When is it enough that you would consider calling for help?"

The tiger just held up his paw and licked what would be a pinky on a human hand. "I know we made…" Sam couldn't believe what he was saying… to a tiger of all things. "… a pinky promise. But you can't make that call now. You're a tiger!"

Dean guarded the cell phone like a tiger would a juicy steak. Sam grumbled angrily before grabbing his suit and stomping into the bathroom. As he changed into his F.B.I. costume he could hear the unhappy snarling of Dean through the closed door. It was all it took to remind Sam why it was so hard to work with Dean sometimes. He was too damn stubborn! And he always thought he knew best. It made Sam angry enough he wanted to punch something, but with a decent amount of willpower, he restrained himself.

As he opened the door, he found Dean's full 500-or-so-pound body resting on top of his cell phone. Which was fine, because Sam didn't need it. He marched right by the tiger and hopped into the Impala. This clearly shocked and alarmed Dean. The tiger jumped up concernedly and placed his big face against the wall-window and stared angrily and worriedly out at his brother. Sam shouted, knowing that Dean's cat ears could hear it, even through the car and the motel window. "I'm going alone. I'll be _fine_."


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Bearthian watched with the eyes of a hawk that flew over the motel of the Hunters and saw one leave in the big black car. The druid knew he was in no shape to be facing the Hunter alone at the moment, not after having used nearly all his mystical power on creating three dryads. Such a task was not a trivial job for a druid. Instead, he stuck to the more-sloppy, but less-draining method of persuading the local wildlife to do his bidding for him. Without the tiger-brother around, the human would be reasonable prey for almost any creature Montana had to offer.

The druid sent out his natural influence into the region, feeling out any potential local soldiers. Not far from Singleshot, he could sense a moose foraging for food in the forest. Compelling the moose to his mission, the animal dropped its search for food like a hot-potato and began his charge toward town. The human was going to have an unfortunate run-in with a 1200 pound moose.

With the Hunters out of the way, Bearthian would be able to conquer the entire human region without much resistance. With a satisfied grin, he made his way out of the woods toward the motel room. That tiger would submit to him or experience breathing his last breath.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Dean wasn't about to just sit back as his confused little brother charged into a potential threat alone. Had he not been around when the bull had charged in, Sammy would have been dead probably three times over. He knew Sammy wasn't lying completely when he said he could handle himself. That was as true as any words ever spoken. But at the same time, Dean knew Sammy wasn't as good as he was himself. And that made him nervous. He couldn't let him go it alone.

With great difficulty, Dean managed to get his mouth and tongue firmly around the doorknob to be able to open the motel room to the outdoors. However, what he saw made his fur stick straight up as he took an instinctive jump backwards with his claws drawn out.

Before him was the strange man-creature from the zoo the night before. Dean growled deeply at the man as he approached the defense-postured tiger. No words were spoken, but Dean could feel the man in his head. Each pupil-less eye stared into his soul, it felt invasive, and the strange desire to follow him out of the motel ran through his mind.

Bearthian felt like he was winning the battle of wills. Unfortunately for him, he'd not been able to finish the transforming magic the night before to turn the man, mind and all, completely into a tiger, which was not his preference in making the humans suffer, but a Hunter was too dangerous to be left mentally intact, and he'd never met a Winchester before. He had no idea just how stubborn they really were. Just as the druid thought he'd won, the tiger let out an ear-shattering roar that actually caused the windows around the motel to rattle, before the large cat bolted out of the door and left the druid in his dust.

Dean ran with a determination to first, get away from the man, and second, find and protect Sammy. That man-creature had come at this time possibly knowing that Sam was gone. And whatever the man was doing inside of his head made Dean feel very nervous about being around him. Dean could feel the desire to hurt and kill people, his brother included, running through his mind as the man had invaded his cat-noggin. He needed to stay as far away as possible from him.

On top of that, Dean figured that if the man had known (potentially) that he was all alone in the room, then he knew that Sam was out and about without his guardian tiger. Assuming this strange animal-like man was the reason the bull had attacked, and Dean was pretty sure he was, it was reasonable to think that he would try the plan again. And it would more likely work on Sam without Dean there to care for him.

Big paws thudded down the Singleshot sidewalks, which was fortunately quite empty, though not dead, causing by-passers on foot and in car to do double-takes as they thought they saw a tiger, which just happened to be true today. Dean wasn't sure what the repercussions of running down the street as a tiger would be, but he had to risk it for Sammy.

Being able to actually move his big cat body to the full of its extent for the first time was actually quite thrilling for Dean. He could feel each dense muscle in his body bend and flex with each impressive step he planted. He was zipping down the street faster than even some of the cars driving about. He expertly maneuvered his tail to aid him in turning and leaping around and over the various obstacles in his way as his eyes took in the details of the streets at a rate he could never have done as a human. He realized for certain, that aside from intimidating Sammy with his fangs and humiliating him with his massive size, there were legitimate perks to being a tiger.

Dean was confident that with his impressive schnoz, he'd be able to track the so-so-familiar scent of his baby's exhaust all the way to the animal hospital where he'd find his little brother posing as an F.B.I. agent. Dean stifled a kitten-like giggle as he thought of how Sammy would react when he saw his big 'ole brother bounding down the street at him. It was almost enough to make Dean forget just how mad he was at Sam at the moment. How he was getting difficult to trust. Almost.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Singleshot Animal Friend's Boarding Home sat unknowingly in the hate-filled eyes of a large male dryad. The people within went about their business of cleaning, grooming, feeding, and caring for the various pets left in their care. Not one of them had any idea there was a large, inhumanly strong, force of nature hunting them.

With a determined hand, the dryad drew his swords and charged through the large window with the business' logo on it, swords already directed toward the two individuals nearest his newly made entryway. Before the two men could even turn to see what had come through the window, they had been cut down.

The rest of the workers, and even the animals, began screaming and panicking as the dryad man hacked and sliced through all living human bodies the building had to offer. Not a flash of remorse crossed the purple-skinned face as the human bodies piled up and the crimson blood pooled out.

It wasn't even five minutes before the dryad had hunted down each and every human that had worked or was unfortunate enough to be present at the boarding home, even the ones that had tried running out the back doors. Once the enemies had been slain like the evil the dryads saw them as, thanks to the influence of their creating-druid, he continued on to set each pet free from the cages they had been placed in.

After that was done, the dryad galloped off in search of his next target. What he left behind was nothing shy of a gory massacre.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Sam stood at the scene of the murders at the animal hospital looking for evidence as he posed as F.B.I. agent Lee. There was no doubt in his mind that the purple-faced man from the zoo was somehow behind this. But as Sam recalled, the man had a staff in hand, and the wounds he saw on the victims were inflicted by something much sharper than a staff.

He was starting to get discouraged as he was failing to see anything that he could hold on to as evidence toward the culprit being one supernatural creature as opposed to another. The only things to take away from the scene was that all the animals were set free and unharmed, while every human had been attacked with the intent to kill. Also, each had been stabbed by something much like the end of a crude spear or stake, but had actually died by a poison with symptoms much like cyanide, but he was pretty sure they didn't all bite into a cyanide capsule at the same time. The oddest thing was that an elderly woman survived. He'd catch up with her later.

As he finished inspecting the crime scene, he heard a female officer scream from somewhere out in the front parking lot. Sam darted out to see what was going down so that maybe he could help and immediately saw the concern. Charging in from his left, out of the woods to the north of town, was a large, male moose.

The woman officer dove out of the way, but Sam recognized the dodge to be totally unnecessary. The moose wasn't just rampaging blindly. It wasn't rabid or confused. It was on a mission. He could see it in the beast's eyes. The moose was after Sam.

Sam pulled out his gun and took a few shots at the quickly approaching moose. Each bullet hit, but the 1200 pound beast wouldn't be stopped so easily. As the moose stampeded at him, Sam noticed the eyes were red just before he dove aside, just barely escaping the heavy hooves of the murder-tasked mammal. He spun around to see the animal doing the same, shoving a motorcycle out of its way with ease in the process. Sam knew he and the motorcycle were probably of similar weight. If that moose hit him, that'd be it for him.

The horned mammal charged Sam again, but this time he was in the same path-of-travel as the startled female officer. If he dodged, he'd live, but there was no guarantee she'd react in similar fashion. Sam could tell by her terrified and confused expression. She was practically paralyzed by shock. Instead of rolling, Sam stood and sprinted at the woman as quickly as he could, knowing full well that the moose was charging at a much faster rate. He was ready at any moment for the painful trampling of hooves breaking his limbs as they carelessly pressed down on him. Fortunately for the cop, Sam made it to her in time.

Throwing the officer out of immediate harm's way, Sam fell on his ass and spun around to spot the moose. He wished he hadn't! The moose was just mere feet from him, a distance that the behemoth could close in mere seconds; less seconds than Sam needed to stand or get out of the way.

Instinctively, Sam reached for his gun, but fumbled it as a frightening and surprising roar blasted against his eardrums from the street. He suddenly felt the weight of a freight train gently, but firmly press him out of the path of the stampeding moose.

Sam quickly looked back and watched as the moose trampled over a tiger that Sam was very familiar and angry with, though none of the anger concerned him at the time. He was more worried about the beating he was watching Dean endure for his sake.

Dean tumbled and rolled as the moose plowed over him before turning around and preparing to charge Sam again. There was no doubt about it: the beast was literally hunting Sam. However, Dean wasn't about to let that happen. No mammal with the brain the size of a walnut was about to get the best of Dean. He immediately was back on his feet, apparently brushing off what Sam knew to be some major injuries, and racing to Sam's defense. "Dean!" Sam hollered. "Don't get yourself killed!"

The tiger seemed not even to hear Sam's cries, though Sam knew he had, and pounced on the over-sized deer, again, like on the bull, plunging his sharp claws into its thick flesh and throwing his weight to the side forcefully to cause the moose to lose its balance and fall to the floor.

Sam watched, totally fascinated by how expertly Dean seemed to operate his tiger body. The moose was down, and with a desperate look from Dean, Sam watched as his fangs sank deep into the moose's neck and crushed its throat. The moose was instantly dead as his spine was severed. Sam knew from Dean's look that he hadn't wanted to do that. Though, he was technically a tiger, he also wasn't. And no human wants to put his teeth into the living flesh of some dirty animal from the deep Montana woods. For Sam's sake, though, Dean had done it. _I owe him a big toothbrush._ Sam thought to himself as Dean leapt over to him.

No words were needed between the Winchester brothers to know the conversation. Dean was boldly expressing through angry and taunting animal gestures that he had told Sam he shouldn't go alone. He had told him it was dangerous and yet Sam hadn't listened. "I know you warned me." Sam argued. "And I tried to come with someone, but you stole my phone." Sam explained frustrated. "Had you trusted me. Had you let me call the Men of Letters, someone would have had my back."

Dean was clearly offended at those words as he bared his fangs at Sam, a gesture that would have had anyone else running, but despite all their fighting, Sam knew that Dean would never hurt him. It was an oath that Dean had taken to Sammy when he was just a baby, and it was an oath that he knew he would never break. Sam never had reason to fear Dean. Never.

In a more docile manner, Dean gestured questioningly around the animal hospital. "I didn't find much to go off of." Sam admitted. "Nothing we didn't already put together."

Heading back to the Impala, ignoring the people around staring at the young F.B.I. agent walking and talking with a tiger, Sam held the door open for Dean to climb in. He did so, much to the groaning of his baby, and they drove off before anyone could really address the tiger situation in front of them.

"Thanks, by the way." Sam said quietly. Dean had no trouble hearing it with his cat-tuned ears. "I was in some real trouble and you saved me."

Dean simply bent over and licked Sam's non-driving arm before settling back down in his seat with a stern face cast at Sam. "Yes, we'll talk about the case when we get back to the motel." Dean growled a little. "And yes, I'll let you come with me next time. It's not like people don't know there's a tiger running around now." Sam muttered. "I just hope that doesn't cause us any unneeded trouble."


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Curtis Shawn arrived at the crime scene at the Singleshot animal hospital where he had just recently received a call claiming that there had been an orange and black tiger there. He pulled up and found the corpse of an adult male moose lifeless on the parking lot asphalt and a few police officers looking entirely unsure of what to do with it.

He walked up to the corpse and flashed his badge, putting to rest any concerns the cops would have with him messing around with the body. It didn't take him long to identify the cause of death. "Lucy!" He hollered in his raspy and serious voice. "Mark it down. Cause of death: bite to the neck. Severed spine. Crushed esophagus."

The young woman who acted practically as his shadow and secretary, though she was a talented animal control officer herself, ran silently behind him with her notepad and a "Yessir!" She jotted down all that Curtis stated as the man continued to examine the beast.

"It doesn't seem to be rabid or anything." He spoke mostly to himself. "So what's it doing here?" Lucy just shrugged. "Anyone here see what happened to this moose?" He hollered to everyone around. A young female police officer raised her hand, so he approached her.

"Officer Stone." She greeted him with a firm handshake.

He nodded. "Curtis Shawn." He got right to the point. "Tell me what you saw."

"Okay. It happened like this." She started. "After this all happened." She gestured to the clear crime scene in the animal hospital. "An F.B.I. agent showed up to do some digging, standard kinda' stuff." Curtis nodded. She continued. "Then I saw it."

"It?"

"The moose." She said with a point toward the dead body. "It was barreling down on the hospital like a fat redneck to an all-you-can-eat buffet featuring a chocolate fountain."

"Was it running oddly or anything?"

"Not that I could tell. Looked healthy and strong." She shrugged. "And fast!"

"Then what?"

"Then I screamed and the F.B.I. agent bolted out of the hospital to see why I screamed." She took a deep breath since she had been speaking so rapidly. "The moose totally ignored me as I jumped out of its way and it charged the agent. He shot it." Lucy wrote that detail down. "Even with the bullets in it, 'cuz he hit, I saw it. He hit, I think twice." Curtis nodded impatiently. "It still was runnin' at him."

"Did it hit him?" Lucy asked in a petite and worried voice.

"No, ma'am!" Officer Stone said sounding as shocked as if it had just happened seconds before. "He dodged it and then came over and rescued me as it turned and charged again."

"And you're sure it looked healthy?" Curtis asked. "It's just not normal for a moose to be so aggressive unless it has something wrong with it."

"Well, I'm no doctor…" Officer Stone started humbly. "But I can say it looked to me to be as healthy as a fattened calf before a feast." She smiled awkwardly. "Minus all the fat. This sucker looked strong!"

"So what happened?" Curtis asked, obviously perplexed by the story.

"Just before the moose ran down the agent, this big tiger jumped in and knocked the guy outta' the way!"

"Are you shittin' me right now, officer?" Curtis sounded angry. "I can't do my job if you don't give me the honest facts."

Officer stone placed her arms up in front of her as if to surrender and keep the peace. "Tellin' nothin' but the truth, sir." She placed a hand on her heart. "I swear it."

Curtis sighed heavily, clearly frustrated. "Go on."

"Once the tiger had pushed him outta' the way, the moose trampled over the tiger. I could hear the damage being done, like when you're breaking up a real serious fist fight. That heavy flesh-on-flesh beatin' sound." Curtis did know what she was talking about. "Then the tiger jumped on the moose and bit it dead." She finished. "That's the truth."

Curtis nodded. As unlikely as that all happening seemed, at least the cause of death matched up, plus the two bullet wounds. "Where'd the agent go?" He asked.

Officer Stone shrugged. "Got in his car and left. Didn't say a thing."

"And the tiger?"

"Got in the car with him and left." She said it stone faced (no pun intended) and that disturbed Curtis.

"You're saying that a Bengal tiger climbed into a car with an F.B.I. agent and they drove off together after having teamed up against a moose?" Curtis asked loudly. "You do realize how stupid that all sounds, right?"

"Stupid or not, that's what happened." Officer Stone stated plainly, seemingly getting tired of Curtis acting like she was some kind of lying moron.

"Fine." Curtis said. "Did you get all that, Lucy?" Lucy simply nodded silently. Officer Stone gave her a strange look before Curtis spoke again. "Can you describe the tiger?"

"Yeah." She answered. "It was orange and black, like the cereal one."

"Tony." Lucy interjected.

"Right."

"Size?" Curtis asked un-amused.

"Very big." Stone answered. "Like huge!"

"Like eight feet long?" Curtis asked.

"Bigger." Stone answered. "Like ten or eleven."

"You are honestly telling me you think the tiger was eleven feet long?" Curtis asked. "What? Are you gonna' next tell me that Lake Placcid is behind your station and Godzilla lives at your home?"

"Sorry, sir." She said clearly not sorry. "That's how big it was. I'm good at judging. It's part of my job for describing suspects and vehicles. That cat was a big one."

"Fine." He caved. "Write it down, Lucy." She did. "And was it a male or a female? You can usual-" He was cut off as Stone answered confidently.

"Male."

"I didn't even tell you how to tell."

"The males have balls and a thing, right?"

"Obviously."

"Then it was _definitely_ a male. I think everyone down the street could see that much."

"Okay." He answered through confused eyes. "Right it down, Lucy." He looked at her. "Male."

"Can you guess the weight of it?" Curtis asked. "I know it's tough."

"Sorry. I really couldn't tell you." She shrugged. "It was definitely heavy." She commented. "The moose collapsed under its weight real fast. And I think mooses can lift a lot."

"Moose." Curtis corrected.

"Where?" Stone asked.

"That's what…" He gave up. "Never mind." He turned to Lucy. "Write down that it was uncommonly heavy. Maybe 550 or something." She nodded and did as she was told. He turned back to officer Stone. "Any other features you'd like to share?"

"Uhh…" She thought. "It kinda' seemed like it knew the F.B.I. Agent."

"Do you know that for sure?"

"No." She answered. "But it saved him and didn't hurt anyone."

"So we all got lucky." Curtis stated flatly. "Luck doesn't happen twice. We gotta' catch this tiger." He asked her one last question. "There was only one tiger here? 'Cuz there's two on the loose."

"Only one, but I'll call your office if I see another one."

"Good answer." He said as he turned and walked back to his car.

Lucy smiled meekly to Officer Stone. "Thank you for your help." She said quickly as she spun around and chased after Curtis before he took off without her.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

"Can we call the Men of Letters now?" Sam asked. "People are dying and you're a tiger." Dean shown no indication of revealing where he had hidden both of their cell phones while Sam was gone. "We need the help. Can't you trust me on this?" Dean shook his head 'no'. He didn't think they did needed the help. Not yet, at least. And Sam had definitely not proven his trustworthiness. Dean couldn't ignore the betrayals of the past. He couldn't excuse as easily as he thought he could the secret involvement Sammy had with the British Men of Letters.

Sam was almost grinding his teeth he was so angry at Dean, who hopped up on the bed casually, causing another creak of protest under his weight, and curled up as cats do. "Don't relax!" Sam yelled. "We're in deep, man."

Dean nodded his understanding. Sam watched him furiously. "And you're just gonna' sit there?" The words escaped Sam's mouth much more loudly and hatefully than he meant, he was just so frustrated with them being on such opposite pages. Dean roared deeply and forcefully, causing Sam to shut up for a second. Sympathetic green eyes stared gently into Sam's as a big paw patted the bed next to him calmly. Sam knew what Dean wanted. He wanted him to sit down and take a breather. He was too worked up, and though he had legitimate reason to be frustrated with Dean and worried over the case, he was taking too much anger out on his poor big brother and none of the fighting was helping anything.

Sam stretched his feet out over the edge of the bed and plopped his head down on Dean, right in the center of where his big cat body curled as he lounged, and took a deep breath. A large, orange, but blood-stained paw rested caringly over Sam's chest as Dean slapped a wet lick over Sam's mop of a head. "I just don't know what we're dealing with, man." Sam exhaled weakly as he spoke, almost feeling like just burying his face into Dean's furry body and screaming, but he resisted.

Dean started to purr, a therapeutic feature that cats, big or small, could offer those around them. "Okay." Sam said more firmly. "Let's put together what we know." He leaned his head to his right to stare into Dean's big, green eyes. "The creature is connected to animals, maybe even nature as a whole. Purple skin, feathered arms, clawed hands, a staff…" He faded out as he tried to recall the night at the zoo. "Bird feet. Antlers. Glowing eyes." Sam fell silent. "Did I miss anything?"

Dean gestured with his big paw at his tiger body. Sam smile with a 'duh' face. "Right. He can turn people into animals. And I think he can control animals too." Sam added. "Twice in one day for strange animals to attack out of the blue is a bit too odd." He pondered it all a bit more. "And I'm pretty sure those animals were actually after _me_." Sam said, placing a loose hand on himself.

The tiger under him nodded affirmation to that conclusion. "But how does that connect to the murders at the animal hospital?" Sam asked, getting nothing but a shrug as a response. "How are we gonna' catch him?" Sam asked, growing frustrated again. "If we had help, we could spread out and search, but alone we may not ever see him again."

Dean stood suddenly, allowing Sam's head to flop down onto the mattress below his stomach. He looked down and between his legs at Sam who was looking at him with a 'what gives?' face. Dean shook his head 'no'.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Sam asked. "You're trying to tell me you've seen the man again? Since the zoo?" Sam raised his head, allowing it to press into Dean's furry belly, their hair intermingling. Dean just shook his head in affirmation. "Where?" Sam asked. "When?"

Dean carefully stepped over Sam's head and slid off the bed onto the floor like an orange, feline shadow and tapped the door a few times with his paw. Sam sat up alarmed. "Here?" He asked. The thought worried Sam immensely. Dean nodded. "When?" Sam asked, already figuring the answer. "When I drove off to the animal hospital?" Another nod.

"Shit." Sam flopped back down onto the bed. "He knows where we're at." Dean bounced carefully back onto the bed and curled up reassuringly next to Sammy. "I know you'll protect me." Sam said as he petted Dean more knowingly and intentionally than he ever thought he would. "But I'm worried about you, too. Bulls and moose are no joke." Sam said before he sat up again and looked concernedly at Dean. "Speaking of which…" He started examining the tiger by him as if he was a sample under a microscope. "I know that moose did a number on you."

Dean tried to brush it off as nothing. "Dude…" Sam protested. "I know your new body is massive and strong and whatever, but I could hear it. I heard the hooves stomping down on you. That had to hurt!"

Sam stood up. "Okay. Here's the deal." Sam went over and dead-bolted the door and placed the chain lock in place. "I doubt the monster guy will try anything again today. So we'll hang out here one more night. That'll also hopefully give people enough time to forget that they'd seen a tiger wandering the streets." He glared disapprovingly at Dean. "I'll give you a quick check up, we'll eat, clean up, pack up, sleep, and find a new base tomorrow. That way he won't know where to find us." Sam's face melted into an unsure frown. "Hopefully." He headed to his bag to fetch the first-aid kit they had. "And somewhere in between all of that I'll figure out what monster we're dealing with." He sighed. "Sound like a plan?"

Sam's tiger yawned and nodded. Sam had forgotten how much a typical feline of any species regularly slept. Either Dean was different since he had the mind of a human, or he was really pushing himself for his brother's sake. Either way, it had been an eventful day with an investigation and two life-threatening animal attacks. Some rest would be very much appreciated by the both of them.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

Curtis Shawn cruised the town in the late evening with his partner Lucy looking for any signs of a tiger. He figured if a tiger as big as Officer Stone had said was around, people would make a fuss about it, but so far no calls were made in. So, he cruised and watched hoping that the beast would show up.

His job was typically unexciting. Usually he was called in to deal with raccoons or badgers, or some other common-day pest that could be dealt with using a net and about two minutes of his day. A tiger. That was different. That was exciting. That was dangerous. And where he always exceeded in catching the boring household pests with incredible efficiency, capturing the tiger, nay, even locating the tiger was a task he was majorly failing at. How could a 500-or-whatever pound tiger slip by for a whole day without one call being made or a clue left behind?

As he and Lucy patrolled, he did make one observation. "Lucy." He commented. "Have you seen _any_ animals all day?"

"Save the dead moose, no." She answered.

"Wouldn't you say that's odd?"

"Very." She agreed. "Not even a raccoon or squirrel." She looked around. "Where do you think they all are?"

"I haven't the slightest idea." Curtis responded. "Maybe they have noticed that there's a tiger around and scattered."

"All of them?" Lucy asked, seeming to be unconvinced.

"Got a better explanation?"

"No, sir."

"Well, we're looking for a tiger, so keep your eyes open." He commanded.

"Yessir." She answered.

"We'll not rest until this tiger is placed back in its proper place in the zoo."


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

"Hold still, you wimp!" Sam ordered as he felt along Dean's rear legs. "I just gotta' make sure everything's okay." Sam was no vet, but he was a rather intelligent man and he'd seen his fair share of severe injuries. He figured if Dean was truly hurt, he could tell. "This is where it hurts?" He asked as he watched the pitiful tiger nod pathetically as he slowly moved the hind leg up and down, extending it out, and folding it back in. "That hurts?" Another sad nod.

"Okay." Sam said. "I can't feel anything wrong with the bone… I think." Sam explained. "I bet there's some bruising. After all, a moose did step on you." Sam rattled on. "You're lucky you're a tiger right now. If you'd been human, that thousand pound or whatever moose coulda' killed you. Not just bruised you."

Sam repositioned himself near Dean. "Lie on your back." The tiger rolled onto his back and rested awkwardly with his legs all stuck up in the air. Sam leaned down and pressed his little-by-comparison head on Dean's heart. He rested there for a moment, just enjoying the warmth of Dean's fur and the consistent beating of his enormous tiger heart. "And your chest or stomach hurts, right?" Dean let out a quiet yip in response that Sam knew to be a 'yes'. "Okay, let me check it out. Make a noise when I'm on the hurt part." Sam ran his hands firmly, but carefully over all of Dean's under-torso looking for the damage. Dean purred unintentionally as he enjoyed the petting he was receiving before he finally yelped as Sam's hand pressed on a location where the moose had gotten in a good stomp.

"Here?" Sam pressed gently. Dean affirmed. "Okay, let me just take a look. Sam tried his best to feel for Dean's bones underneath all the fur and muscle, but couldn't find anything that seemed broken or out of place. "I think this is just a bruise too." Sam said, giving Dean a very intentional belly-rub as he laughed. "You're one lucky kitty, Dean Winchester. Had you been in skin like mine, you'd be a dead man." Dean just purred in response. "But don't worry. As much fun as it is to have a pet cat, I'll get you back to normal."

They stood up and Sam got his boots back on. "How about some grub?" Sam was positive Dean was starving since he definitely couldn't feed this tiger what one ought to be eating as far as calories were concerned. "I'll go get some snacks."

Before Sam could get out the door, Dean grabbed onto Sam's leg gently with his powerful maw. "What, you don't want me to go alone?" Dean affirmed by running out of the door first and waiting by the car. Sam sighed and obliged. "Okay, but you have to stay out of sight. I'm sure people are keeping their eyes peeled for Tigger after what you pulled this afternoon." Dean nodded and Sam let him into the Impala.

The food run went smoothly, save the long list of food that Dean had indicated he wanted at the fast food joint and the incredibly high cost that Sam could only cover using a scammed credit card, not to mention the fast food worker looking at Sam like he was the very definition of gluttony. Regardless, they made it back just fine to the motel, but encountered something there that made Sam rather uncomfortable.

"Stay very, very low." He instructed Dean as he got out of the car. He made his way over to two individuals standing near the door to his motel room. One was an older man with salt n' pepper hair, while the other was a more petite woman with dark hair and bright red lipstick. Both looked tired and a little frustrated. "Can I help you?" Sam asked politely.

"I hope so." The man answered in a deep, raspy voice, like he had smoked cigarettes full of nails every day. "We're looking for…" He almost looked embarrassed as he brought up the subject. "…an F.B.I. agent with a Bengal tiger."

"A tiger?" Sam asked through a put-on laugh. "Seriously? Like orange and black?"

"Yup."

"Did it, like, escape from the zoo or something?"

"Exactly."

"Oh." Sam said as he feigned realization. "Sorry, I didn't think you were serious."

"We are." The woman said in a tone that informed Sam that they had likely been at this all day.

"I haven't seen any tigers around."

"We were just hoping that if an F.B.I. agent was staying somewhere, it would be a motel, and since you're the only customer at this fine establishment, that would mean you're the agent."

"Sorry." Sam offered. "Wish I was, but I'm not qualified to be an F.B.I. agent. I'm just a law school drop out on my way home to Kansas."

"Sorry to bother you, sir." The man said. "If you see a tiger, please call me. The name's Curtis Shawn." He handed Sam a very plain business card that identified him as an animal control agent. _Shit, they're better at searching than I hoped._ Sam thought worriedly.

"I'll call." Sam said. "Should I do anything else?"

Curtis was already heading back to his car, but the small female turned back. "Don't approach it or try to interact with it in any way."

"Trust me." Sam laughed. "I won't!"

"Thank you, sir." She said as she got in the car.

"Where are you going now?" Sam asked. "You don't think it's close to here, do you?"

The woman shrugged. "We're going home for now. It's been a long day, but don't hesitate to call if you see anything. Any hour of the night."

Sam watched as they drove off into the darkness of the cold Montana night. "Shit." He muttered to himself before heading to the Impala and letting Dean back into the motel and carrying the food in. Once in the room he shut and locked the door in every way possible before shutting the blinds.

"We gotta' be careful." He explained to the tiger that was currently inhaling cheeseburgers and chicken tenders as if they were oxygen. "Those were animal control officers." He sat beside Dean on the floor and sighed. "They're looking for you."

Dean yawned as if he didn't really care. "You should care." Sam explained. "It only took me two tranquilizer darts to put you out and drag you here by myself, Mr. Mistoffelees." Sam warned. "It wouldn't be hard for an entire animal control unit to do so."

Dean nodded his understanding to Sam with a slightly agitated grunt. "The good news is that they said they're heading in for the night." Sam smiled to Dean. "So we should at least have the night worry free."

As they finished eating Sam stood up and threw the numerous bags that once held greasy junk food in the trash before finishing his soda with a long slurp. He looked at Dean who had long-ago finished all the food and was pawing around at his jumbo-sized soda in an attempt to open it to drink it, but to no avail.

With a laugh, Sam got up and helped him, holding the cup with the lid removed, and watching mesmerized at the length and girth of the cat's massive tongue as he lapped the soda all out of the cup in just a few swipes. Dean looked up at him as he licked his chops with a grateful gaze. "I gotta' take a leak." Sam shared. "Wanna' come?"

Together, the brothers snuck back to their usual spot and relieved themselves. As they peed, Sam tried talking with Dean. "Y'know, I am sorry that I worked with the British Men of Letters behind your back." Dean just gave Sam a strange and uncomfortable look while groaning. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know we're peeing, but you're not a human anymore, so bathroom etiquette doesn't apply."

Dean looked at Sam as he spoke. "And I want you to know that I don't trust them either. I'm not blind. At least I don't think I am. I know my track record isn't good." Sam finished up and stood back to wait for Dean to finish. "I know I had that Ruby thing, which was terrible and I don't wanna' talk about it. But I know the Brits ain't good." Sam waited for Dean to flick his ears, indicating that he was paying attention. "But the Men of Letters, for as shitty people as they are, have good resources. Mr. Catch is a reliable man to have your back."

Dean growled at this. "I know he's not trustworthy, and he's no you, that's for sure. But you're a tiger now. I just don't know how to handle this." Sam confessed. "To tell you the truth, I'm loving having a tiger-brother. Despite the danger we're in, we're having fun!" Sam laughed at it. "I mean, look at us. We're eating pounds of junk food and having pissing contests, that apparently, you're _still_ competing in." Sam laughed even more. "But I'm also scared. We still haven't figured out what's behind all of this and I don't wanna' risk you being stuck like this forever."

Dean lowered his leg and walked over to Sam, brushing and rubbing against his leg affectionately. "I know we'll get through this." Sam was reminded of his own mantra from before. "We're Winchesters. We always do."

The brothers made their way toward their room when an idea hit Sam. "Hey." He said as he stopped in place, causing Dean to do the same. "This place has a pool and a hot tub." Sam mentioned. "And I happen to know that the animal control officers are at home now and the motel manager's totally unconcerned with what's happening around here."

Dean got an excited look on his face and his ears perked up at the plan Sammy was dishing out. Finally, Sammy finished his thought. "Let's get in the hot tub." Dean literally jumped up and down excitedly on all fours before racing with Sam as quietly as they could to the hot tub.

The tiger wasted no time before gracefully submerging his body into the almost-too-hot water of the crummy motel's hot tub. Sam stood at the edge of the cement and looked down at the lounging cat. "You look happy." He commented with a big smile. Sammy looked around cautiously before stripping naked and climbing in beside his brother. "Dang, it's hot!" He hissed. Dean just licked his cheek and Sam knew that meant he liked this idea.

They lounged in the hot tub for about an hour before Sam stood up. "I can't take it anymore, dude." He scooted up onto the cement ledge of the in-ground hot tub. "It's just too hot. I'm boiling alive!" He wiped some sweat off his forehead. "You ready to go back?" Dean effortlessly bounced out of the hot tub, his water-soaked fur dripping excess water all over the concrete like it was Niagara Falls, and intentionally ran into Sam. It was a light bump from Dean's perspective, but since he was an over-500-pound cat, the impact knocked Sam right over. Laughing, Sam grabbed Dean's tail and tugged. "You jerk." Even though his brother couldn't talk, Sam knew what he would have said.

Instead of responding with words, Dean thought of something equally funny. Whipping his tail out of Sam's hand, he scooped up Sam's clothes in his massive mouth and darted silently off toward their room. "Dean!" Sam hissed as he looked warily around, hoping that no one was around. Since the coast seemed clear, he tippy-toed as quickly and cautiously as he could back to their motel room where a soaking wet tiger with a man's clothing in his mouth waited eagerly.

"You're such a jerk." Sam huffed as he pulled the room key out of the pocket of his jeans in Dean's mouth and let them into the room. "You're going to get us in trouble sometime, y'know?" Dean totally ignored Sam's empty threat and continued in his laughter at Sammy's expense.

Sam ignored it and refocused on the work agenda. "Tomorrow I'm going to interview Agitha Brown, the survivor of the animal hospital. We gotta' keep you outta' sight." Sam locked the door behind them. "So for now, let's get ready for bed and catch some z's."

In just the short walk from the front door to the bathroom, Sam had developed goosebumps since the room was so freezing! He ran the hot shower and hopped in, Dean jumping in to get scrubbed clean too, and got them both freshened up.

Sam dried off Dean and combed his fur, which it seemed like Dean actually liked, and then climbed into bed. "Lie with me." Sam ordered Dean. All he got in response was a tiger looking at him with a kinky and confident face who then sauntered over to the bed with far too much hip action going on.

Sam rolled his eyes and chuckled. "I didn't mean it like that." He defended his choice of words. "I'm cold. These blankets are thin. When I look at you I see a 500 pound fur blanket with a built-in heater. So come here."

Dean didn't need to be told twice. He slid onto the bed with the grace and silence of a cat and sprawled out unabashedly next to Sam. "Shit, you're big, dude." Sam wasn't lying. Sprawled out, Dean was about 12 feet long from outstretched front paw to the end of his tail. He was twice as long as the bed and had a hard time staying on it. Dean remained like that and rolled next to Sammy, letting his under-side warm his brother up.

After a few minutes like that, Dean collected his whole self onto the bed and curled up next to his little brother like any household cat would do with his owner. "You really are warm." Sam commented, which received a steady stream of purring in response. "Thanks for being such an awesome big brother." That got a long series of sloppy licks across the face and head in response. Sam laughed and snuggled up with the tiger, carelessly wrapping himself around his warm, furry figure. "Good night, Dean." One last good-night lick, and the brothers were out for the night.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

Carl Blinkly sat in front of his TV in through the late hours of the night. It had become his habit to watch old reruns of _Leave it to Beaver_ until he fell asleep in his lounge chair. Ever since his wife Edna had died, crawling into that old, creaky bed was the last thing he could bring himself to do. They had had 51 wonderful years of marriage, even though they'd had no children, and now the grief and solitude was slowly eating away at whatever life he had left in his old body.

Somewhere in his restless, lonely sleep, Carl was startled awake by something more than a funny moment in his dated television series. A strange whining and alarmed mooing made its way into his farmhouse. With a heavy sigh, Carl forced his old bones into action, standing up and placing his boots on to check it out. That was the thing about being a cattle farmer, the herd always needed something. No rest for the weary.

Carl casually made his way to the large fenced-in field in which he kept his herd. He wasn't too worried. He figured it was just a coyote or fox startling them, but not really doing any harm. After all, cows were big. They were docile, but not unable to defend themselves. If it was truly something that a wolf or creature of that nature, they'd be stomping around in a frenzy. They were clearly not doing that.

He went into the barn and grabbed his shotgun and headed toward the corral's gate. Before he got there, he saw something most peculiar that made him stop in his tracks. In the corral with the cattle was a strange figure. It looked like a very tall man, but Carl could have sworn he saw antlers growing out of the man's head. The man didn't seem to be doing anything other than standing in the center of the corral. Carl had a hard time seeing with his old eyes in the night's darkness, but it seemed to him the man had his eyes closed, like he was focusing on something very intensely.

Using his better judgment, rather than approach the strange figure, Carl hid behind the door of the barn. He'd rather lose a couple cattle or whatever than cross paths with whatever that man was. He wasn't sure why, maybe it was his years in the marines, but he could sense that the figure was not a friend. It would be better to lose the cattle than his life. Even though he didn't care to live any longer, he had to think of his sister. His sister had lost her husband many years back and had lived a majority of her life as a single-mom widow. He had to continue to live and prosper to help care for her until the day the good Lord took him home.

It felt like nearly an hour had gone by before Carl got the nerves to peek out again. When he did, it looked like some creepy cult. It was as if Disney had made a movie based on Charles Manson, but with animal cartoon characters. The strange man was standing in the middle of the corral, not saying a word, and the cows had all gathered close around him in a calm circle.

One cow, the oldest in the herd, Coo-Coo, as his nephew had named him since he couldn't say 'cow', looked up from the man in the corral and stared at Carl. The old rancher yipped quietly as he took in Coo-Coo's eyes. They were blood red. The shock from the menacing stare caused Carl to jolt backwards. He tripped over some lumber he had left on the floor and hit his head hard on the edge of the large lawn-mower he stored in his barn. The knock made him fall unconscious and that was the end of Carl's night.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

Dean's glowing, green eyes opened suddenly. Something wasn't right. He could feel it in his bones. He looked at the bright LED clock. It read 3:00 a.m. He looked worriedly at his little brother, who was wrapped all around his tiger form like he was some beloved stuffed animal. As much as he didn't like interrupting Sammy's comfortable-looking sleep, he just couldn't shake the feeling of danger.

Sam awakened with a groan. "Dean, what is it?" He looked at his tiger-brother and saw that he was staring very purposefully out the window by the front door. "Something's out there."

Dean began growling very lowly, a noise that actually made Sam a bit nervous. It was like having a giant guard dog, which was great, except everyone knew something was possibly wrong when their guard dog began growling or barking in the middle of the night.

Sam stood up and went to the window by his brother and looked out it. He couldn't see anything, but he was pretty sure Dean could. He felt Dean's enormous and surprisingly strong tail press into him, telling him to back up. Sam walked quietly over to his gun, not entirely sure of what was coming.

Everything grew quiet for a few seconds. Dean's growling stopped. Sam stood frozen in place. Not a sound came from outside. Until suddenly a loud crash came from the shattering window. Sam watched as glass flew into the big tiger guarding him, but Dean didn't retreat. He stood his ground against the newly emerged threat. In the room were two bighorn sheep. Both had large, curled horns like Sam and Dean saw on all sorts of illustrations of demons in various demonology books. The horns were firm and capable of breaking small trees and rocks apart. Sam knew that they were easily capable of breaking his bones if given the chance.

The sheep bolted around Dean and ran right at Sam. The younger Winchester quickly jumped up onto the bed in hopes that the action would at least interrupt their charge a bit, but he was wrong. The sheep easily maneuvered up onto the bed with no slowing. In a quick second, Sam was already diving off the bed as the sheep both trampled across the cheap mattress, knocking the pillows off and flipping the nightstand over carelessly. Neither seemed to notice the impact.

Sam took aim at the sheep to shoot, but didn't have time. Both were already turned and rampaging right at him. With a frustrated and exhausted sigh, he moved his briefs-clad butt boorishly out of the sheep's way. He managed to just barely get out of the path of the first bighorn sheep, but as he flipped back over to assess the situation, he saw that the other one had him. He felt like he was in the cross-hairs of a homing missile, only this missile had horns. There was no escaping this time.

With a roar and a 550 pound leap, Dean knocked the charging sheep right off its feet and onto the ground. Sam took the briefest second to watch Dean's tonnage overtake the impressively-sized sheep with relative ease. However, that second cost him. By that time, the other sheep had already turned and rushed Sam.

Sam felt the horns of the bighorn sheep plow right into his gut as he tried to stand from the floor. It sent him pummeling right back onto the ground in agony. He cried out in pain as the sheep proceeded to trample over him before stopping at the far wall and turning around.

He coughed violently having had the breath knocked painfully out of him. Dean heard his brother's fit and quickly dispatched of the sheep he had in his claws and bolted over to his little brother to check up on him.

The tiger looked worriedly into Sammy's eyes and yearned to help him recover, but there was really nothing he could do. Sam coughed some more, but placed a hand in the air gesturing that Dean didn't need to worry. "I'm fine, I'm fine." Sam wheezed. "Worry about the sheep."

Dean swiveled around and saw the sheep barreling across the room at his little brother again. However, this time it wouldn't find any success. Not if Dean had anything to say about it.

The tiger charged the sheep, but the red-eyed critter showed no signs of fear. So what if an over-sized tiger was playing chicken with it? It didn't mind. After all, it was the one with the horns. What it didn't realize was that Dean was no ordinary tiger. He was extraordinarily large and stubborn. His father had always said he had a thick skull, so it was about time to put that theory to the test.

Throwing caution to the wind, Dean ran his big head right into the sheep's. And it hurt like hell! However, to his fortune, weighing over 550 pounds had its perks. Despite the incredible collision and the major headache Dean was going to suffer, he had successfully rammed and stopped the sheep. Sammy was safe.

Making sure to recover faster than the sheep, Dean clambered back onto his four paws and threw himself on the bighorn sheep before it too could regain its footing. Once on the sheep, despite its squirming, the tiger had no trouble ending its life.

Sam watched impressed as his brother finished off another two life-threatening animals. And again, he had noticed the eyes of the animals were not normal. They were red. Sam was no zoologist, but he was quite certain that moose, bulls, and sheep didn't have red eyes.

Dean stumbled over to Sam, his head clearly jostled from the impact with the sheep's solid horns, and collapsed exhausted in front of him. Sam still ached, but managed to scoot over to Dean and wrap and arm around him. "Thanks, man." He sighed as his gut still hurt. Dean looked at him and let out a confused-sounding grumble. "I tried to use my gun!" Sam argued. "But the sheep were all over me. You try shooting them in this tiny space with them throwing themselves at you the whole time." Dean shook his head in faux-disappointment. "Jerk." Sam laughed.

He rested on Dean's massive form a bit before Sam forced himself onto his feet. "Okay." He breathed heavily. He could tell that he was gonna' have a really nice bruise on his stomach. "You okay?" He asked, checking on Dean's status. The tiger stood, his head clearly aching, but otherwise he was fine. He nodded to Sam. "Good." Sam started packing his bags. "Because we need to get outta' here." Dean grabbed his duffel bag in his mouth. Sam continued speaking. "We've had two animal attacks at this motel. We gotta' get outta' here before something sneaky, like a poisonous snake or something gets in here and ends us."

In a quick minute, Sam and Dean had the Impala all packed up and ready to go. Sam let the big tiger into the back of the car and listened as the shocks groaned under his weight. Closing the door, Sam made his way into the driver's seat. Dean began yipping at him. "I don't know where we're going." Sam explained. "But I think we need to get off the grid." Sam backed the car up. "For now, we're going into the woods."

Dean looked startled at that. "I know there are more animals in the woods than in motels, but that way we're not endangering anyone else. And maybe they won't expect us to go to the woods. Flathead National Forest is huge. Maybe we can go unnoticed."

They drove toward the edge of town and made it there in a relatively short time. Sam allowed Dean to get out of the car. They weren't even a quarter of a mile into the forest, but it was far enough that people wouldn't likely see them. And Sam hoped that this would still be close enough to snag internet from some unprotected fool.

Under the concealment of night, Sam unpacked all of their camping supplies (something they always kept in the back of their car). He and Dean were accustomed to camping together. Not every case allowed them the luxuries of cheap motel rooms and fast food joints. Sometimes they had to rough it in the wilderness.

It took Sam virtually no time at all to set up the little two-man tent as Dean used his cat-vision to collect sticks for a fire and do a security sweep at the same time. Before an hour had even gone by, the brothers were all set up for the night. Sam stripped back down to his briefs and climbed into his tent, praying that the ground wasn't too rocky or uneven for a good night's sleep.

He lied down and smiled to Dean, who was forcing his way through the small tent's front door. "Right now, I'm so glad you're a giant cat." Dean tilted his head questioningly at his little brother. "It's freezing, Dean." Dean got the message and curled up by his brother, being extra careful not to squish him in the tiny bedroom they now shared. Sam petted Dean carelessly with one of his hands as he stifled a yawn with his other. "Tomorrow, we'll go interview Agitha, right?" Dean nodded. "Good."


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

Curtis Shawn stepped out of the shower to the sound of his phone ringing off of its proverbial hook. He wrapped a towel around himself and raced for his phone. The front said 'Lucy Parquette' in digital lettering. Hoping they had a lead on the loose tigers, he eagerly answered it. "What?"

The voice was a bit panicked sounding on the other end. "Have you turned on the news yet? We gotta' get going!" She had an excitement in her voice she usually didn't.

"What's going on?" He asked as he sprinted to the TV and turned on the local news. What he saw just about gave him a heart attack. "What the hell?" He hollered.

The news was showing an animal control officer's worst nightmare. A stampede of cattle was charging down main street of Singleshot like some scene from _Australia_. The news commentator seemed to have no idea what could have caused this, but the vast number of cattle was concerning. One cow on a rampage was dangerous, but this looked more like 100!

"I'll pick you up!" Lucy hollered into the phone. "I'm already on my way." With that, she hung up. Curtis didn't have time to say anything, but it wasn't a problem. They'd figure out their plan in the car. He quickly got dressed and waited out front for her car to pull up. It didn't take long.

Lucy pulled up in her white SUV and Curtis practically jumped in before she peeled back out onto the street in the direction of downtown. "What do we do?" She asked through bright red lips as she carefully swerved the car around slower traffic on her race to the stampede.

"First, we gotta' figure out what farm they're all running from." Curtis explained. "After that, we gotta' find a way to curve their stampede back toward whatever farm that is. Hopefully we can run them back into their corral and trap 'em there."

"And you don't think they'll just bust back out?" Lucy asked.

"They're cattle, not dinosaurs from Jurassic Park. They like their enclosure. It's familiar. It's safe. It's food. Get 'em there and I reckon that'll be that."

"You're the boss." She said as she sped down the road toward the angry bovine.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

Sam woke up to the sound of birds chirping and a lazy tiger's yawn. The sun was up for the morning and the heat was slowly making its way into the air. "Rise and shine, Garfield."

Dean shook his head back and forth, trying to force the sleep out of himself. The moment he was awake, he sprung up, his ears listening intently. There was something very loud happening in town, and Dean was pretty sure he knew what it was, but he was hesitant to actually believe it.

Nagging Sammy to hurry up, Dean bounced and growled impatiently. Sam threw on his jeans, a button down which he didn't bother buttoning, and his old boots, which he barely finished tying up before they were in the Impala and barreling toward town.

"What the hell is going on?" Sam finally asked his feline family. Dean just stared eagerly out the window, as if the answer would come into view any second. And as the day would have it, it did.

Sam parked the car behind a gas station right on the edge of town in case they needed to make a fast escape back into the woods. Jumping out and letting Dean out, Sam took in the chaos.

Cattle were stampeding down the street, pushing cars, bikes, and anything else unfortunate enough to be found in the path out of their way with reckless abandonment. Nothing stood a chance before these barreling bovine. Even the buildings along the street couldn't be assumed safe. Many were losing windows, outdoor furniture, and some were even suffering some internal damage when a few stray cattle made their way in.

"What do we do about this?" Sam asked his brother. Dean did his best to shrug as he took in the situation. Neither had a clue how to handle this. They were not raised around farms. They knew nothing about cows except that they made milk.

As if to answer their prayers, a voice cried over a loud speaker. Sam recognized it. It was the voice of Curtis Shawn, the animal control officer. He looked around in desperate search for the man. He found him standing on top of a one-story pizzeria with a megaphone. "All people, evacuate main street and all buildings. Leave your cars and belongings. We're going to try to startle the cattle back to their farm."

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Sam found himself asking his just as clueless brother. All he got was another cat shrug. "Well, it's a better plan than we have. But how are they gonna' do it?"

Sam and Dean watched from the gas station parking lot as a series of police cars and animal control vehicles and many personnel encircled the path of the cattle as safely as they could and began using blow horns, whips, car alarms and horns, and anything else that could draw the cattle's fear out of them and began trying to divert the stampede back toward the farm like cowboys used to do.

Despite the racket, the cattle seemed to continue plowing forward, though anyone could see the noise was definitely making the cows hesitate before continuing. It wasn't working as they wanted, but it was clearly doing something.

Next the police sent out the canine units, alongside the local farmers. They all released all the hounds they had trained to deal with such a situation, which unfortunately wasn't a large number. But, to their luck, there was a much larger and much more clever creature standing around.

Dean saw what the dogs were doing. Even though they were not even half the size of a single cow, the dogs fearlessly ran in and began scaring the cattle in the direction the animal control officers wanted them to go. It was true that all it would take for one of the cows to kill a dog was a mean stomp, but even so, the cows were afraid of them because of their skittish, docile nature, so they went exactly where the dogs were leading them.

Before Sam even knew what was happening, Dean was darting across the gas station parking lot into the fray. "Dean!" Sam cried out. "Be careful!" While he certainly meant it regarding the stampede, he also was very concerned about the animal control and police present. Dean simply roared over his shoulder in response. Sam wasn't instilled with much reassurance from it. "Yeah, whatever." Sam spoke quietly to himself. "This is gonna' have repercussions."

Dean ran alongside the canines, which surprisingly didn't veer off their mission in fear, and aided them in diverting the stampede back in the direction they were coming from. The turn-around went as well as could be expected, but did cause a few businesses to suffer as the cattle bashed through their windows and collided with their walls in a chaotic attempt at a complete about-face.

The spectating crowd watched in fear and amazement as a tiger led a pack of dogs in rounding up some cattle. Even Sam found himself gawking in bewilderment as Dean so expertly worked the cattle in whatever way he wanted to. However, Sam wasn't about to stand around like a statue forever.

He bolted down toward the crowd so he could fall in alongside Dean as best he could. Even at his impressive height and level of fitness, Sam was no match for the giant of a tiger his brother was. "Dean!" He hollered. The tiger spared a second to glance his way. "Be careful!" Sam shouted as he pointed toward where Curtis was standing. Dean seemed to understand as he zoned back in on his task with the cows.

The cattle raced back down main street toward Carl Blinkly's farm. It would only be a handful of minutes before they were back in their corral if all went according to plan. Sam and Dean both found themselves wishing against their bad luck that all would happen according to plan for just this once.

Curtis Shawn watched alongside his partner Lucy as the stampede forcibly moved themselves back toward home. However, what they both saw near the middle of the stampede made them both stiffen up in shock. A tiger was running alongside the cattle. No, not just running. He was actually directing the cows. "What the crap?" Curtis gasped.

"There's your tiger." Lucy said needlessly as she pointed to the largest tiger Curtis had ever seen, not that he had seen a ton. However, he took his job seriously, and being so close to a zoo meant that he had studied up on the zoo's animals. That tiger was bigger than any textbook said tigers could be. The thing was bigger than the cows!

"We've gotta' get that tiger!" Curtis said recklessly as the importance of the stampede seemed to fade out of his mind.

"What about all the cows?" Lucy asked wisely.

"They're being dealt with." With those words, Curtis was in Lucy's car with a tranquilizer gun he had snatched from another animal control officer earlier. "Drive!" He ordered. The car peeled down toward the tiger in record speed for Lucy.

Sam saw the reaction that Curtis and Lucy had to seeing his brother and knew things were about to get intense. There was no way Dean would ever approve of him putting the Impala in any danger by trying to drive in a stampede, so Sam took off on foot. He had to ensure Dean's safety!

Dean ran, oblivious of Curtis' pursuit. He was too engrossed in the stampede. All he could hear was the sound of hooves pounding heavily against the asphalt underneath him and the frantic mooing of frightened cattle. One odd thing that he did notice was that each cow had deep red eyes. It didn't take a ranch hand to know that cow's didn't naturally have red eyes. Something was odd and he figured it had to do with that strange man from the zoo and the motel. Maybe he had gotten into the heads of the cattle just as he had tried to get inside Dean's head? That was Dean's theory and he'd be talking to Sam about it later.

The cattle barged into their fenced-in corral and Carl was ready for it. He'd heard and seen them coming from some ways away. Once it seemed the last one was in the pen, he slammed the door shut and prayed that the cattle would calm down.

Dean continued to round the cattle up into a herd and watched as the fear seemed to leave them and the red in their eyes faded away. The stampede was over, but Singleshot had suffered a great deal of fiscal damage on main street. They wouldn't soon forget this.

Curtis and Lucy pulled up right behind the stampede. Despite Lucy driving in a manner that could have earned her a spot in _The Fast and Furious_ , the stampede was just too dense and chaotic for her to have made it there any faster. It didn't take them long to spot the giant tiger in the midst of the cattle. "There he is." Curtis said eagerly as he prepped his rifle with the one tranquilizer dart he'd managed to bring along. "This better do it." He took aim.

Sam sprinted to his brother as fast as he could. He was impressed with himself that he hadn't fallen far behind the stampede. He figured maybe all the noise and destruction just gave the illusion that the cows were moving quickly, when in reality all the chaos and confusion just made for a slow-moving, hectic herd.

When he arrived at the farm, he found the cows all being calmed down by the police's dogs and his own dear brother. Unfortunately, he didn't have long to appreciate what his brother had just accomplished. He spotted out of the corner of his eye the animal control officer from the motel, Curtis, taking aim on his brother with some rifle. Sam assumed it was a tranquilizer rifle, but he wasn't positive. Either way, it was bad news for Dean.

Sam bolted toward his brother. He moved as quickly as his long legs could take him, his unbuttoned shirt flapping wildly in the wind as his leather boots pounded deep footprints into the dusty ground. He leapt over the pen's fence, his eyes bouncing back and forth between Curtis and his brother. The rifle and the tiger. That's when he saw it. The finger pulled down on the trigger. The gun let out a scream. The dart raced out of the barrel.

"DEAN!" Sam shouted as he threw his body carelessly in front of the tiger. Dean turned and watched as an enormous dart lodged itself in Sam's stomach, emptying all the liquid within it into his brother's bloodstream. The tiger roared fiercely at the sight of his brother fall unceremoniously to the ground like a ragdoll.

"Run." Was the only word that escaped Sam's limp lips before he was completely out cold. Dean looked up and saw the female animal control officer running at them to see what had happened. Obviously they were not targeting the human. It was anyone's guess what a tiger-sized tranquilizer would do to a human.

He knew he didn't have long. With some difficulty, Dean managed to shove his head under Sam's unconscious form and wiggle himself under so that the result was that Sam was lying upon his back. Dean watched as the officer's eyes went wide at such a sight before he took off with his sleeping sibling riding atop him.

Curtis let out a stream of swear-words as he watched the tiger escape with the F.B.I. agent on his back. It was like something out of a cartoon. What the hell tiger were they dealing with? Whatever the situation was, it was clear that the tiger and the agent had a bond and that the police officer from the animal hospital wasn't lying at all about the tiger. It was all weird, but it didn't change a thing. He would hunt that tiger and put it back in the zoo where it belonged.

Sam was probably lucky he was sleeping like a corpse as Dean ran him as carefully as he could while still maintaining a speed needed to escape their potential pursuers. His body bounced violently on top of Dean with every large step or leap he took. It didn't hurt Dean at all. He weighed too much muscle to care, but he actually worried Sam would wake up bruised. If he woke up at all. The thought scared Dean. That was a heavy-duty sleeping dart. Sam was big. But he was not tiger-big.

Unfortunately, Dean had been transformed into a tiger, not a doctor. There was nothing he could do about it at the moment, even if he knew of something he _could_ do. Instead, Dean just kept running. The best thing he could do for Sammy now was to get him back to their camp. There, Dean could make sure he was kept safe as he recovered. He hoped all that was needed for a complete recovery was a good, long snooze.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

Singleshot's local pet store found itself pretty empty due to the craze resulting from the stampede that had happened just earlier in the day. Everyone was too busy stuck in the chaotic traffic or rubbernecking to be bothered with pet-related errands.

However, despite the lack of customers, the store was still manned by the handful of employees that were currently being paid to sit around for the day. While that had seemed like a lucky break to the workers at the time, it wasn't.

Out of the blue, a dryad burst through the front door of the establishment and tore through the entire store, releasing every caged animal she could on her way. The animals all meandered about, unsure of what to do without someone bringing them water and food when needed.

The dryad carried in her hand a poisonous spear, and wore upon her face a murderous scowl. She was there to do the bidding of Bearthian, and that task was to end the lives of all that would take from animals what he believed they were all meant to have: freedom.

With that in her one-track mind, the dryad pranced gracefully about the linoleum floors of Paw'd Pals. Every human she came in contact with screamed for mercy and tried to flee. Their cries fell on, not deaf ears, but uncaring ears. She heard them, but felt no pity. Instead, the screams made a twisted smile cross her petite face. The thrill of the hunt.

She stabbed each worker. There was no concern as to where the spear penetrated. The poison would do the work. Of that she was confident.

In under 15 minutes, the entire store was dead. The dryad made her way out of the store and back to work somewhere else. She would not disappoint Bearthian.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

Sam woke up feeling like shit. He couldn't recall why he was waking up. What had happened? He played the day back through his head. He had woken up in the woods. Then he went to town. There was a stampede. A showdown at the farm. And he remembered. The tranquilizer. Animal Control. Curtis Shawn.

"Dean!" Sam shouted before he really collected himself. It didn't take long for him to realize that Dean was right there with him, allowing his little brother to use him as a pillow. The tiger licked his brother affectionately to reassure him that he was fine. Thanks to Sammy, Dean was okay. And thanks to Dean, Sam was safe.

Sam rolled over and smiled at Dean, his head still groggy from the drugs. "I'm glad you're okay." He said through slightly slurred words. Dean did his best to smile. "And good job with the cows."

Dean purred as a show of gratitude to his brother's concern and compliment. However, just because the stampede was dealt with didn't mean their work was anywhere close to being done. The tiger urged his brother up to his feet, making sure to stable him as he tried to get his wobbly legs under control.

"I know, I know." Sam chuckled as he tried to balance himself. "We've got work to do." He unzipped the tent, not entirely sure how Dean had managed to zip it shut. Maybe a light bite or a dainty claw? Either way, it didn't matter much. He was safe thanks to his big brother rescuing him. Now it was his turn to rescue his brother from being cat.

Dean followed Sam to the Impala. Sam let him in and explained the plan. "Okay." He started as he quickly changed into his F.B.I. costume and got the car going. "We're off to interview Agitha Brown. Hopefully she'll reveal something useful in pegging this monster's identity. After that, we'll figure out how to kill it. Then you'll be a human again. Good?" Dean nodded. "I just hope it's that easy."

The drive to the local hospital where Agitha was being kept as they monitored the stab wound in her shoulder was more difficult than it needed to be due to the now-torn-up roads from the stampede and the fact that Sam had to be careful to avoid anywhere the animal control would spot them. He pulled the Impala up and turned to Dean. "Sorry, man. This time you gotta' stay here." Dean nodded his understanding before Sam added an obvious point. "And stay out of sight!"

Sam left his tiger in the car and made his way into the hospital's sterile and moderately decorated interior. Using the obvious benefits of posing as an F.B.I. agent, he was directed to Agitha's room right away. What he found was an oddly more healthy woman than he expected. He had read online that she had 'survived' the attack, but it didn't say that she was essentially unharmed. But he figured to himself that to a non-Hunter, a stab wound to the shoulder was serious. To anyone in the Winchester business, that was just another day at work.

"Hi." He introduced himself meekly, being sure to hold his badge up in plain sight for her aged eyes to read. "F.B.I." He stated with a smile. "Just wanted to ask you a few questions about the attack at the vet."

"I already told the police." She explained. "I'm not sure I have anything new to say."

"I'm not looking for new." Sam answered. "I just want to hear it all from your lips rather than some police database. If you don't mind."

Agitha put down a small book of crossword puzzles and took off her reading glasses. "It's not like I've got anywhere else to be." She smiled warmly, and Sam felt almost like he was talking to his own grandmother. Unfortunately, Sam had only met one of his grandparents, Samuel Campbell (whom Sam was named after), and that was anything but pleasant. This was almost what Sam figured every other boy in the world experienced with a grandparent. Warmth. Kindness. Gentleness. Love. Not deception. Abuse. Being taken advantage of. Hunting.

"Thanks." Sam smiled genuinely.

"It's not like my puzzles are going anywhere." She laughed mildly. "What can I answer for you, sweetie?"

Sam cleared his throat and gathered his thoughts. "The day you were attacked…" He started. "Did you see the culprit?"

"Jumped right to the million-dollar question, didn't you?" She laughed humorlessly without ever making eye-contact with Sam. "You're going to put me in the loony house."

"I promise I'll do no such thing." Sam vowed.

"What do I care?" She chuckled lightly. "I'm too old to worry much about my future."

"Why would I put you in a loony house?"

"Well, because of what I'm about to tell you." She explained as if it should have been obvious. "No one else believed me, and quite frankly, I don't blame them." She said. "But you asked me to tell you what I saw, not necessarily what actually happened."

"Is there a difference?" Sam asked a bit confused.

She laughed heartily at that. "There shouldn't be." She managed to get out between chortles. "But at my age, with these eyes, I just can't be sure." She grew a bit more serious. "I remember vividly what I saw." She paused. "But I also know what I saw isn't possible."

"Tell me." Sam encouraged her. "I believe anything." He laughed for reasons unknown to her. She looked at him in a way that urged him to elaborate. "Let's just say I live in the world of things people don't believe are real."

"Oh?"

"For instance." Sam couldn't believe he was saying this, but her grandmotherly presence just pulled it out of him. "My big brother, he's a tiger now."

"A tiger?" She smiled, clearly intrigued.

"Yeah. Something turned him into the biggest, most proud tiger you'd ever seen in the world."

"I think we'll be seeing a lot of each other." She patted his hand gently.

"Why's that?"

"At the loony house." She laughed. Sam did too. "I was at the vet, my poor baby was sick. I've never seen a cat look so miserable."

"Then you've never seen my brother when I told him to wait in the car." Sam and Agitha laughed together.

"I wish I had." She joked before continuing. "As I waited in the lobby, something came crashing into the building. It looked like something out of _The Chronicles of Narnia_ or something."

"What was it?"

"It had the body of a young woman, not a bit of clothing on…" She added with a disapproving raise of her eyebrow and tightening of her wrinkled lips. "But the waist down was like a horse or a deer."

"Sounds like a centaur, or a fawn…" Sam speculated.

Agitha looked at him like he was speaking another language. "I've not a clue." She admitted. "Anyway, she had a spear that looked like it was crudely made from the branch of a tree or something. She stabbed everyone in the waiting room, but no one died to it." She paused. "Until later. Then they all seemed to die like spies biting down on cyanide pills."

"Interesting."

"The next thing I knew, I crawled out and called the police. They came and said there was nothing in the building except bodies. Not even animals in the back."

"So the animals were set free?"

"I guess so."

"Do you remember anything else?" Sam asked.

"That's pretty much the whole story." She admitted. "Sorry if that didn't help much."

"No, it was very helpful. Thank you!" Sam smiled as he excused himself and headed back to the Impala. He wandered through the halls of the hospital almost in a trance as he let all the information she had given him bounce around his mind. He tried to connect it to anything he had read or learned over the years.

Dean was waiting patiently in the car. As soon as the Impala door opened, a gleeful gaze overcame him as he looked fondly at his younger brother. Sam smiled as he relaxed into the leather seat of Dean's baby. "Yeah, she told me a lot." Sam explained to his brother. "But I can't connect it to anything off the top of my head. It's definitely something we haven't faced before."

The tiger looked forward out of the windshield very intentionally. "Yeah, we'll go back to the camp and I'll do some research."


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

The Winchesters sat in deep silence in the tent as Sam looked for lore online about fawns and centaurs. Unfortunately, his research wasn't leading him to any matches with what was going on. In appearance, a fawn matched most closely. The thing was that fawns weren't very aggressive. It totally wasn't their MO to blatantly assault public places. Centaurs were more aggressive, but what motivation would a half-horse man have in attacking? Besides, the animals in the town had been acting strange with their red eyes. Neither of the creatures Sam had researched were known for influencing animals in such a manner.

Dean lounged on his side, slightly curled around Sam as he studied. He purred as best he could, but it was to no avail. Sam's fruitless research was making the younger Winchester a bit tense and agitated. It was finally after what seemed like the millionth web page about mystical creatures that Sam finally flipped his laptop closed harder than he normally would have and let out a frustrated growl. It was a growl that even made a tiger flinch back a bit.

"This is hopeless!" Sam bellowed. "That lady gave me all the information we normally need to get to the bottom of a case, but I'm still stuck floundering about without even the slightest idea of what we're facing!" Dean purred loudly and tried to sooth Sam by pressing his big cat head against his brother's arm. "It's just..." Sam continued. "What beast is half-human and half-horse, can control other animals, can also look like some weird bird man with antlers, and can turn people into animals?" The tiger just shrugged innocently. "That's too much power!" Sam grumbled. "What creature can do THAT much!?"

This was all fueled even more by the news report the brothers had heard on their way back to their camp from the hospital. It had listed a few more locations where similar strange attacks had taken place. Another one had involved the same poison as Agitha had witnessed while the other seemed to be a strong man with a sword slashing people to death.

Sam hopped up and stomped out of the tent. "The body count's getting too high." He said through a mouth resting unhappily under a deeply furrowed brow. "We can't keep running around like this accomplishing nothing."

Dean got up and followed him out of the tent, not very eager to hear where this was going. He yipped and grumbled lightly to communicate with his brother whom he shared a very deep connection with. Sam shook his head unhappily. "Sorry, Dean. I know we stopped a stampede and stuff, but people are still dying. People are still missing. You're still a tiger. And to top it off, the monster's still out there!"

Dean's head tilted questioningly, a very nervous face painted on his tiger head. "You know what I'm saying." Sam stated plainly. "We gotta' call the Men of Letters." The tiger looked at Sam and gestured back and forth between the two of them. "I know we're the Men of Letters." Sam said with no sign of amusement. "You know what I mean."

A hefty growl rumbled out of the tiger's mouth as he glared and bared his teeth. "Save it, Dean." Sam ignored his brother's threatening demeanor. "You made a pinky promise to me and it's time to do it. Now you're a tiger, so you can't, so I'll do it for you."

Dean growled even more loudly and batted Sam rather forcefully with an un-clawed paw. Sam glared at his big brother with a face that clearly stated that he couldn't believe his brother had just done that. "Excuse me?" Sam retaliated, clearly ready for a fight. "You made the promise. We gotta' save this town." Sam explained with a firm and angry face. "We gotta' save _you_!" He hollered. "And we're clearly failing here all because you don't trust my judgment! Let's call in someone to help!"

Sam pulled out his cell phone and looked at the digital screen. He was glad they were camping close enough to town to get Wifi and cell service. He started pressing the necessary touch-screen icons to bring up the British Men of Letters agents he knew, but before anything more could be done, the large maw of a tiger came by like a bolt of lighting and swiped the phone right out of Sam's hand.

"DEAN!" Sam shouted, no longer restraining himself from showing just how fed up he was with everything. He was sick of being on this hunt. He was sick of being attacked by animals. He was sick of people dying. He was sick of fighting with his brother. He was sick, sick, sick of Dean being a tiger. The last one definitely had its perks, and he was enjoying the new and kinda' quirky and fun relationship they had because of it, but it couldn't last. His brother needed to be human again. Hell, Sam knew he needed him to be human again. "Give me the phone, I'm not even kidding right now." Dean didn't budge. He held the phone tightly in his mouth, but not tightly enough to break it. "You're luck I don't have any more tranquilizer darts." He hissed as he leapt for Dean. He grabbed the tiger by his big neck and tried to wrestle the phone out of Dean's mouth.

From that instant, it was an all-out brother-on-brother brawl. Sam against the 550-plus pound tiger with razor sharp claws and a mouth that could crush his skull. Yet, Sam wasn't the least bit afraid. He stuck his by-comparison tiny hand into the tiger's trap and tried to pry the phone free, but couldn't. His hand came out covered in a sticky layer of saliva. "Give it!" Sam said as he jumped on the cat and tried to knock it off its feet.

Dean was having none of it. The cat remained on all four and bucked around like a rampaging bull until Sammy finally fell off. Sam spent no time getting back to his feet and charging the over-sized feline. He rammed his body hard into the cat, which hurt his shoulder quite a bit, but he'd never admit that to his brother. The tiger went down to the ground at that and the phone fell from his moist mouth. Sam sat, straddling the large beast as he tried desperately to reach the phone with one hand as he kept his brother pinned with the rest of his body.

It didn't work. Dean was simply too big. The cat weighed well over double Sam and was almost twice the height from nose to tail. Dean simply pushed himself up, knocking Sam onto his ass in the process. Sam audibly growled at his brother, he was so frustrated! Again, he charged Dean with the full weight of his entire body, but this time the cat was ready.

Dean reared up onto his hind legs and stood much taller the Sam. The moment Sammy was close enough, Dean came down hard, placing one un-clawed paw on Sam's chest and knocked him down hard to his back. He used the free paw to ensure that he didn't come down too hard on his brother and break any bones, or worse.

He could see how angry Sam was. The boy was so mad he was on the verge of shedding a tear. With a quivering lip, Sam threw a hard punch at Dean's cheek. It made perfect contact. It didn't hurt Dean in the flesh, but it sure hurt his spirit. His gut reaction was to hit Sammy back, but he couldn't. He wouldn't. Not in this huge body and not in his human body. Sammy was too angry to retaliate against.

He hated seeing Sam so frustrated with him, but even so, Dean knew what the British Men of Letters were capable of. He couldn't let them in on this case. With one last growl at his little brother and a brief flash of an apology in his very-human eyes, Dean dashed off his brother, snatched the phone, and bolted off into the woods.

Sam didn't even bother yelling or chasing him. Dean was too stubborn to listen and now, because of his new feline form, he was too fast and stealthy to catch. That phone was long gone.

After he had caught his breath, and found that despite his melee with a tiger, he was completely unharmed, except for his dignity. It always felt bad losing in a fight. Especially with his brother. It was an odd thing, since Dean always beat him. Since they were kids Dean would win practically every fight. Sam was taller. Younger. Arguably in better shape. And maybe even stronger. Even so, Dean would win. Something about Dean was a fighter. Always had been.

Where Sam lacked in 'fighter' and Dean excelled, he made up for in 'smarts'. That's not to say Dean wasn't smart. Dean was down-right brilliant in reality. However, Dean was also very rash in most situations. He just went with what his gut told him. And fortunately for Sammy, this time Dean's gut had failed to tell him that there was another cell phone in their tent.

Sam went into the tent and dug up his brother's jeans. Reaching into the front pocket, he took out Dean's cell phone and made the call to Mick Davies, the British Men of Letters agent he had been working with to see if they could send someone to assist in the hunt. He knew it would royally piss Dean off, but if it saved the lives of countless people in Singleshot, then it was worth it.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

Dean sprinted through the woods back to town like a lightning bolt through the clouds. The whole time he carefully carried Sammy's phone in his mouth, but he'd have been lying to himself if he said the thought of simply crushing it never crossed his mind. He hurried into town, not entirely sure of what he was doing other than staying away from Sammy.

He knew he couldn't prance around town. People weren't often well-receiving of wild tigers on their streets. He'd have to stay out of sight, at least until Sammy and he cooled off and could get back together for a rational conversation, or at least as rational a conversation one could have with a large cat.

Dean wandered the back alleys and empty parking lots as carefully as he could as not to draw attention to himself. It wasn't long before he realized that such a dream was impossible. If one is a tiger in a small town, then one will draw attention. It seemed wiser to find a place to hide until he was ready to wander back to Sammy.

He found himself a nice, dry back alley, and curled up next to the brick wall of an old Italian restaurant. It was closed until later in the evening, so there wouldn't be much reason to fear someone checking the old alleyway.

Following the instincts of his new feline body, Dean couldn't help but feel like he needed to take a snooze. After all, it wasn't as easy as one might think to move his multi-hundred pound body around at the pace he was usually going. He was tired! He double-checked the area and, deciding it seemed isolated and safe enough, allowed himself to doze off.

After only a few minutes of decent sleep, Dean was awaked by what sounded like the distant sounds of screaming. Not fun screaming or innocent screaming. This sounded like the screaming of people fearing for their lives. People that were dying.

Dropping the phone (it really didn't seem that important anymore), he got up with determination and darted toward the sound of screams. It was clear to him that it was far enough away that the only reason he could hear it was because he had cat ears.

As he raced recklessly across town, all eyes of by-passers spotting him, Dean could hear more sounds in relation to the screaming. Animal noises. Vicious ones. He knew he had to hurry!

When he arrived, it was plain to see what was going on. It was clearly the job for a Hunter. Dean found himself at the Dog and Cat Clinic of Singleshot. It was clearly an animal medical facility, but there wasn't any animal helping going on at the moment. The front windows and door were busted in and screaming resonated out into the streets from within.

Dean wasted no time in darting in. He knew he was in a sticky situation. He had to help. That was his code. He was a Hunter. He helped no matter the cost. At the same time, only a fool would assume that no one had called the police, and if the police were called, it was only a matter of time before animal control arrived. Especially since they were already looking for a loose tiger or two. All those things considered, Dean couldn't abandon them. His nose and ears didn't lie. There were animals and people in the building. With renewed determination, he bolted into the building.

As soon as he entered, it was apparent what the culprits were. A pack of coyotes had a large number of people in the lobby backed into the corner. The humans were armed with whatever objects they could find: books, heavy purses, office chairs, lamps. They were grouped up and using the make-shift weapons to keep the coyotes at bay, but it was clear the coyotes would win this one. They had them outnumbered. For the 10 people resisting there were 25 angry canines snapping their fangs at them.

However, the strange smell that reached Dean's nose told him there was a greater threat present. Even his cat senses were warning him in every way they could that something there was even more dangerous than he was. Could this be the creature that Sam had said that Agitha had talked about?

Hearing more screams from the back of the building, Dean decided that he'd have to leave the people with the coyotes and hope that they could hold out long enough for him to come back for them. The screams from the back definitely indicated the need for immediate assistance. He needed to get his ass moving or more people were going to die!

As he emerged into the back rooms where the vets saw the animal patients, Dean found the dangerous enemy. He wasn't really sure what it was, but it was clear that she was female and deadly. She had the body of a deer and the torso of a woman. Her skin was purple and her eyes were fierce. In her hand was a spear that looked like it was made from twisted roots of a dead tree. He remembered what Sam had said about the victims at the other locations. They were killed by poison. So either she had poison within her body and transmitted it in some unknown way or her spear was toxic. Not that it really mattered. He wasn't planning on getting stabbed either way.

At the hooves of the strange creature was the fresh corpse of a young woman wearing business attire. She was likely a receptionist or aid. Now she was dead. Dean growled deeply at the strange woman creature before him. She was going down!

He pounced at her with the grace of a ballerina, but with the full weight of a bulldozer. Even though the creature was clearly dangerous and well-versed in the art of killing, not even she was ready for the sheer force of Dean's tiger body as he plowed into her as hard as he could.

The tiger and the creature fell hard to the floor in a tangle of limbs and organic weapons. Dean slashed about with his claws. He would have preferred a nice gun, but for now, the built-in weapons he had would have to do. The female creature didn't escape unscathed. She suffered deep cuts on her back before she kicked Dean hard with her hind hooves.

Dean felt like he could have seen actual stars floating about his head he was in such a daze. Not many people were ever kicked by deer, but apparently it hurt like hell! He shook the daze out of his eyes and rose to his feet to confront the monster again.

She desperately tried to get a blow in with her spear. It was like a cheerleader's baton in her hands, spinning every which way with a grace that seemed impossible, but yet, Dean's feline senses were sharp enough that he managed to avoid every carefully placed jab and strike.

Flustered, the beast tried to retreat a few steps, and that's when Dean saw another opening. He threw his body into hers, sending her hard into the tile-covered wall. She hit with such force that the tiles cracked and a large dint was left in the wall. The creature let out an angry shout before refocusing her intense eyes on the tiger assaulting her.

She jabbed with her spear, but it was just a distraction. As Dean dodged the spear, the woman rammed him hard with her small antlers. For such tiny size, they were still plenty dense. It felt like getting rammed by another one of the sheep in the motel room.

Dean didn't let it rattle him. He swiped hard at her with heavy, claw-armed paws. She screamed out in pain as the claws lacerated and drew blood. She swung her spear about, but failed to make contact. The tiger had her right where he wanted her.

In her flustered and panicked state, Dean knew he could take her down. Once more, he pounded his body into hers causing her to stumble down to the ground. Without wasting even a split moment, Dean leapt onto her and bit down on her neck with his enormous fangs. Once her esophagus was crushed, she was done for.

Dean watched as her body remained lifeless on the ground for just mere seconds before thick vines and lovely flowers flourished over it. The next thing he knew, there was a small garden before him, and just as quickly as it had grown, it withered and died, leaving nothing behind. Not even her body. No one would ever know what was once there.

Having no time to spare, Dean returned to the lobby and threw himself into the middle of the coyotes. The canine pack looked at him with confused eyes. It seemed they didn't really know which side he was on. The tiger looked into the eyes of the pack and noticed that they were a deep red. These animals weren't acting on their own. They were being used.

None of that mattered. They were preparing to kill innocent people, so they had to be stopped. Dean lunged on the mangy dogs and began tearing through them one at a time. The people backed into the corner screamed and cowered, unsure of what was really threatening them. Was the tiger helping them or ensuring the entire feast was for himself?

The coyotes each took their turn snipping and biting at the tiger's massive form, but the cat proved simply to be too big. There was too much muscle for the coyotes to stand a chance. Dean had little difficulty in putting each one down. The hardest part was just catching each little canine. They were quick and skittish. However, the combined efforts of his tiger senses and his Hunter senses proved too much for the pack. They were each subdued and neutralized. Once he was sure the people were safe, he looked up at them, forgetting he was a scary tiger for just a moment, and tried to smile. All he got in return was a symphony of screams and shrieks.

Realizing what they were seeing, he quickly turned to leave. The last thing Sammy would want was to find out that Dean had the entire city chasing him with torches and pitchforks like some National Geographic version of Frankenstein's monster. He bolted out the front door of the clinic and was as ready as he'd ever be to head back to Sammy and deal with the situation. The truth was, even so, he really didn't want to deal with Sammy at the moment, but he had nowhere else to go, and he may as well tell Sammy that he saved the day by himself by taking out the... whatever that thing was.

He never made it that far. The moment Dean left the front door of the facility, he felt a large sting in his neck. Then another. Then another. He knew what was happening, but tried to fight it with all of his might. He was being sedated. He hobbled a few more groggy steps away from the building, trying so desperately to get away. To deny the reality of what was happening. It didn't work.

As Dean's eyes involuntarily closed, he saw the smiling face of Curtis Shawn leaning in close to him. "Sorry, kitty." He said as he put a calloused hand on his orange fur. "Can't have you disturbin' the peace any longer." Dean knew the man was just doing his job, but it didn't seem to make him any less angry. Just before he was knocked out finally, the briefest flash of Sammy's face crossed his mind. He brushed it aside quickly. He didn't need him. He could save himself. He half expected to wake up being rescued (or killed) by some British Men of Letters. God help him if that happened.


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

Curtis Shawn smiled proudly at the cage in the back of the animal control office as it was now occupied by the biggest tiger he had ever seen in his life, and probably the most elusive too. The tiger was still snoozing, but he knew the effects of the sedative would wear off soon. A cat that big wouldn't be knocked out very long.

Lucy came alongside him and looked into the cage. Curtis noticed as a warm smile escaped her features. "Don't get attached to it." He warned her. "If we find that this thing has harmed any people then he's being put down." She looked at him with a less than thrilled demeanor. "You know it's the law."

She sighed. "I know." She confessed without much conviction. "He's just a poor animal, though. He doesn't understand the world he's been brought into."

"Whatever." Curtis walked back into his office to start getting some paper work done. The creature was either going to be killed or returned to the zoo. Either way, that meant a lot of paperwork for him. It wasn't like he was just returning someone's lost puppy. This was a full-blown killing machine if it wanted to be. One could never be too careful regarding it.

Dean finally opened his eyes to take in his new surroundings. He hadn't forgotten that he had been captured. That was on the front of his mind. But now what? He needed to get out of there. He had seen what was killing the people and he knew animal control didn't stand a chance against it.

"He's awake!" Came the excited voice of a female nearby. Dean's senses went on red-alert as he scanned the area for the source of the noise. Into the back room pranced a woman he had seen before. He believed her name was Lucy. She knelt down and looked into his tired eyes. "Are you awake?" She asked in a voice similar to one that a mother would use when talking to her newborn baby.

Dean growled lowly, trying to convey the fact that he didn't want her bothering him. She just frowned at him. "Not too happy, huh?" She asked. "Sorry, cutie. You gotta' stay in the cage, but I promise it won't be for that long." She looked at him fondly before intrigue sparkled in her eyes. "Huh." She vocalized to no one in particular. "Your eyes aren't like any cat I've ever seen." Dean just shook his head. _That's because I'm human!_ He practically shouted in his head.

"Curtis, have you ever seen a tiger with eyes like his?" She asked.

Showing too little interest to even turn around to look, Curtis spoke over his shoulder. "I can't say I've seen many tigers in my days, and I certainly haven't looked at their eyes that closely."

Lucy ignored his blasé attitude toward the uniqueness of the feline they had in custody and went back to studying Dean's shiny greens. "They almost look human." She whispered quietly to herself, but Dean's cat ears easily picked it up.

"Lucy!" Rang Curtis' voice loudly through the rooms. "Get back to work!"

"Yessir!" She shouted nervously as she stood back up and returned to the other room. Dean was grateful for that. He was getting a bit uncomfortable under her constant gawking.

Alone, he began looking around. The room was plain- exactly what you'd expect of a government run animal control facility- and so was the cage, but that wasn't a good thing. For being so plain, it was thick, solid, and unbreakable. He would need the key to get out, and unfortunately, the key was nowhere around. He was stuck unless some miracle happened.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

Sam waited in a small coffee shop along Singleshot's Main Street. He sat with his laptop opened as he sipped a vanilla bean Frappuccino. It was actually kind of nice not having Dean around for the moment. He didn't have to worry about people seeing him with a tiger. He didn't have to worry about fighting with his overly aggressive brother. And best, he didn't have to listen to Dean tell him a million times that the drinks he ordered were too girly.

As he waited for his contact's agent to arrive, he reviewed the happenings of Singleshot over the last couple days. It was pretty much as he already knew. Several people had gone missing recently, as well as a few in previous months. The more dated ones had gone missing somewhere in the forest, but the newer ones had gone missing from Singleshot's zoo. They needed to be found. Also, there had been a few attacks on various spots in the town, all of them involving the presence or dealings with animals. A farm. Vet Clinics. Boarding Facilities. The zoo. A pet store. Whatever was doing the attacks wasn't shy about killing. Sam thought there was likely more than one culprit. He had seen a strange bird-deer-man thing at the zoo. Agitha had claimed to see something entirely different that had a deer's body and a woman's torso, like a fawn or centaur. He wasn't sure what to make of it all. Hopefully his contact could help.

Sam waited quietly a few more minutes before the small cafe's door chimed open and a man looking quite dapper walked through the door. He was a tall man, about Dean's height, and muscular looking, so much that Sam could tell even under his snazzy suit. Sam smiled and waved lazily to the man. He clearly had noticed the wave as he nodded back and headed toward him.

"Ah, you must be Sam Winchester." The man said in a pleasant baritone with a thick, unashamed British accent. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise." Sam smiled as he welcomed the man to sit. "And you are?" Sam asked,

"My apologies." The man took his hat (which matched his grey pinstripe suit perfectly) off and extended his hand to shake. "My name is Joel Callington"

"Great." Sam smiled and shook his hand. "Let me fill you in on the situation."

"Ah, ah, ah." The man raised his index finger in the air for Sam to wait. "Not before I get my tea."

"Tea?" Sam asked with a slight laugh. "Do all British people really drink tea?"

"Heavens, no." He laughed heartily. "That's just what we want you to think." He winked at Sammy. "We also don't drink our beverages with our pinkies extended, nor wear monocles, nor do we all speak and act in only the most polite manners."

"So you're people like anyone else?" Sam asked with a big smile.

"Oh no, my boy." Joel shook his head with a faux-disapproving wag of his finger. "We're British." He corrected. "Nothing like the rest of the world."

A bit confused, Sam gave up. "Right." He watched as Joel got up and went to the counter to order his Earl Grey Tea. Not before long they both were sipping their beverages (both which Dean would have hated) and began talking about the case.

"So..." Joel took a big sip of his steaming tea. "What's going on in this delightful, back-water town?"

"Not sure." Sam said. "That's why I called you." From there, Sam began to explain everything that had happened from all the research he'd done to the very things that had happened while he and his brother were in town. He told him all about Dean being a tiger, to the zoo and other placed attacked, to the missing people and the rampaging animals. Joel took it all in as if it was nothing more than an everyday occurrence.

"The bad news is..." Joel stated. "You should have called me sooner. We probably could have saved more lives."

"And the good news?" Sam asked hopefully.

"The good news?" Joel repeated the question with a smirk as he took the last swig of his tea and placed his hat back on. "I'm going to help you."


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

Curtis and Lucy, as usual, found themselves to be the last remaining employees left in the animal control facility. Lucy had found that her life was much easier if she didn't leave the office before Curtis, and Curtis took it upon himself to be the star officer for the entire county. All the other employees, by Curtis' standards, were lazy, mediocre, and expendable. Unfortunately, they were who he had working for him, so he put a lot on Lucy. She was the only one willing to go above and beyond the cliché that was the lazy, entitled government employee.

As the clock ticked to nearly 9:30pm he finally decided it was time to go home and get something to eat before bed. "Let's call it." He called over his shoulder to the bright-lipped woman clicking and clacking away at her keyboard on the opposite side of the room. Lucy was thankful for the day's end. She rapidly saved her work and shut down the computer.

"I'll lock up the back." She said as she went back to check on the tiger and the exterior doors in the rear of the facility. She approached Dean's cage and cautiously checked the lock. Had Curtis approached, Dean would have gone nuts to scare him, but the petite woman had done nothing but her job and treat him well. For that, he would behave for now. That being said, he was still looking for any opportunity to get out.

She rattled the lock and was positive that it was secure. She checked the back doors and turned the lights off. "We're all good." She announced to her older comrade.

"Good." Curtis said as he shut the main lights off and held the door open for Lucy. "You be careful driving home, y' hear?"

"I will." Lucy said with a genuine smile. "You do the same."

"Yeah, yeah."

Dean watched as the lights of the two employees' cars pulled away and left the animal control facility in utter darkness and complete silence. _Great._ He thought to himself. _Now what? I sit around by myself?_

Unable to sit lazily and wait to be either put down or locked in the zoo as a tiger for the rest of his life, Dean began testing the bars more. He threw his entire weight into them now that the officers were gone and couldn't do anything to stop him. He clawed at the bars and the lock, but everything was just too solid.

After over an hour of lunging and clawing, body-slamming and biting, Dean was exhausted. He was hungry. Tired. Irritated. And over it all, he was still mad at Sammy. Sure, he had taken Sammy's phone, but he knew his brother. He'd find a way to get what he wanted. That meant that the British Men of Letters were likely on their way. It made him furious. It was like dealing with the Ruby thing all over again. It didn't matter how many times Dean told him it was a bad idea, it didn't matter how much he protested, Sam did it anyway! It was a merry-go-round that Dean felt like he was going to be stuck on so long as he and Sam were brothers. And that was pretty assuredly for life.

Fuming with frustration and anger, Dean paced the cage, not realizing just how much like a real tiger he was looking like. It only made matters worse that he was stuck in a cramped cage with no way out. The only hope for salvation he could think of was Sammy, but he knew he'd find some tea drinking Brit next to him, and that made him mad. Not because of the British. But because of the Men of Letters and how they treated life.

After another hour or so of pacing and fuming, Dean heard the strangest sound from outside the locked back door. In a sudden ear-piercing scraping sound, the door flung open and in pranced a group of creatures Dean was starting to get too familiar with.

Before Dean stood a creature like the one he had killed at the Cat and Dog Clinic of Singleshot. Half woman, half deer. Next to her was another creature of the same species, but he was much bigger and carried two large swords rather than a spear. Behind them entered the one Dean was especially concerned about. The one who had turned him into a tiger to begin with. He entered with his big antlers, feathered arms, bird feet, and creepy eyes like he was on a mission.

"Don't be afraid." The strange creature said in a very deep, calm voice. It was actually soothing to Dean. It resonated deep in his head and had a strange lulling effect on his attitude. "I'm here to help." Dean backed away, trying to get as far away from the man as possible. He'd learned in his years of hunting that no monster ever truly helped. "There's no need to fear me." He said calmly. "We're on the same team now." The last words left his lips on a proud and eager smile.

Dean growled ferociously at the strange man before him, but he showed no indication of fear. "My name is Bearthian." The man introduced himself. "I know you're Dean, a Hunter." He smiled proudly. "Well, you were. Now you're mine." Bearthian looked back at the large male deer-man behind him and the creature sprung to action. He marched straight over to the cage's lock and busted it with inhuman strength. "You're free." Bearthian announced with pleasure. "Just as all of nature should be."

Dean didn't budge. He wanted to get out, but he wasn't confident that he could take all three of them together. Bearthian approached the now-open cage door and looked in at the nervous feline. "Don't be afraid." He outstretched his hand toward Dean. "Be free with me." Dean showed his fangs and prepared himself to lunge at the strange man, but couldn't get himself to do it. He felt his mind go numb. He stared into the glowing empty eyes of Bearthian and felt his independence, his humanity, begin to fold themselves up like a frightened child. "Together we'll be free."

Dean's green eyes faded into a dark black. And then, seconds later, a dark red hue was born unnaturally in them. He was ready to be free with Bearthian. He didn't really want it, not the real Dean, but the tiger did. It wasn't sure why it wanted it, or even if it really wanted it, but it felt forced to want it.

"I can feel how angry you are." Bearthian explained. "That's good. We can use that." Dean sat at Bearthian's feet and waited for direction. "This place is a terror on nature." He explained as his feathered arms and clawed hands gestured to the entire facility. "The people that work here are soldiers for the enemy." Dean listened intently. "What I need from you is to stay here until the morning. They have a routine. They'll be back then. And when they return, attack. Not one of them should be allowed to live. Do you understand?"

Dean nodded. The druid smiled an all-too-pleased smile. "Good." With that word, the druid closed the cage again, but did not lock it, and exited the back, closing it as well, giving the appearance that nothing had happened. Dean had his mission and he was ready to complete it.


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44**

Sam and Joel sat up in the late hours of the night going through the details of the hunt in Singleshot. They had left a note at the camp for Dean and gotten back into the motel. Without the tiger, they had no reason to fear the management calling the animal control and they figured that two Hunters could handle whatever animals might show up. The note told Dean to come to the motel, but until he got there, all Sam could do was work with Joel. They had discussed most of what Sam could think of. "So, you say it has control over animals?" Joel asked as he stroked his chin with his large hand.

"I think so." Sam explained. "And the animals' eyes go deep red when they're under his control. At least, that's my theory. I haven't actually seen him do it, but we've been attacked by several animals under his control."

"Plus the creatures killing people with the poison? This old woman said they looked half deer and half woman?"

"Yeah."

"Sam, my boy..." Joel sat on the end of his bed. "This sounds like nothing I've ever faced before."

"So you can't help?" Sam asked, a bit disappointed. After all, Dean was so against calling the British Men of Letters. If it turned out that they couldn't even help identify the beasts, then there was no way it was worth it.

"I didn't say that." Joel defended himself. "That's the difference between us British Hunters and you American Hunters. We have a network, a pooling of information for the good of all. We're not loners like you Yankees."

"Okay, so what?" Sam asked.

Joel sighed heavily. "So, all we need to do is make a phone call to the British Men of Letters headquarters and they'll take care of it."

"Wait." Sam protested. "What's that mean?"

"It means our job is done."

"No way!" Sam was not about to walk away and let someone else do his job. "We finish this. All we need is an identification. What is the monster we're after?"

"Let me get this straight?" Joel raised a question he had never had to wonder about when working with the British Men of Letters. "You'd rather put your own life at risk than let the professionals handle it?"

"I am a professional."

"No, this is a hobby for you. You have no boss, no supervisors, no organization. You just go where you please and do what you please." Joel argued in a polite and slightly condescending manner. "But if you want to do it your way, I'll oblige. I personally rather enjoy getting my hands dirty."

"So you'll just make the call for help with identifying the creature?" Sam asked for confirmation.

"Yes, sir." Joel answered. "And then you and I can go straight-away to deal with it." With that he pulled out his cell phone and made the call.

"Okay. I'll leave you to it." Sam hesitantly left the man alone in the motel room and hopped in the shower. He had had another long day, but this one was particularly bad. It contained a serious fight with Dean and that meant seeing out the end of the day without him around. He hoped he was okay.

After a nice hot shower, Sam dried off and pulled on a pair of athletic shorts before heading back out to chat with Joel. The British Hunter was sitting casually on the end of what would have been Dean's bed as he watched some boring crime show on TV. "So what did you hear?" Sam asked as he sat on the other bed.

"Seems we're dealing with a Druid." Joel explained. "Not common, at least, not in such developed countries as England or America. They thrive in nature and guard it. However, during the development of major countries like ours, nature was tamed and the druids were either killed or left while they had the chance." Joel turned off the TV and faced Sam. "They have the power to control animals as you say. It's apparently a permanent link between the druid and the beast. It will do the druid's bidding even to death."

"That's what Dean and I've experienced."

"They can transform things of nature and even themselves if needed. However, the dead give away according to the agent I spoke to was the dryads."

"Dryads?" Sam asked. "The half-deer, half-human creatures?"

"Exactly." He affirmed. "Only druids can create dryads. They act kind of like bodyguards and soldiers for it."

"So, if we kill the druid, we kill the dryads?"

"I'm afraid not." Joel said through a put-on frown. "The dryads are now entirely their own existing beings. We'll have to put them down separately."

"Okay. We can do that." Sam nodded, feeling like they were actually getting somewhere on this hunt. "What about the druid? How do we kill it?"

"That's the problem." Joel responded. "Only it can kill itself."

"What?"

"According to the lore, the druid is only killed by its own magic. Everything else is just a temporary thing."

"Then why has he been running from people?" Sam pondered.

"Just because something doesn't _permanently_ kill it, doesn't mean it doesn't take it out for some time."

"Ah." Sam understood. "So we need to figure out some way to take it out for good. We gotta' find a way to use the druid's magic against him."

"Precisely." Joel affirmed.

"Okay." Sam said with a genuine smile and a renewed vigor for the hunt. "Let's get some rest and we can start early in the morning."

"What about your brother?" Joel asked. "Isn't he coming back?"

"We had a fight." Sam explained. "I'm sure he'll come slinking in sometime in the night. I left the door cracked barely."

"And he won't kill me?"

Sam wasn't sure how to answer that question. "I'll sleep by the door."


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**

Sam woke up just as the first signs of light began creeping over the horizon. The very moment he was awake he felt the nearly unbearable chill of the motel room and knew something was wrong. Dean wasn't there. The door was still slightly cracked and nothing but a few insects had made their way in. "Dean?" Sam muttered quietly to himself. "Where are you?"

He knew it was a long shot, but he had seen the tiger operate a TV remote, so Sammy ran to Dean's cell phone and dialed in his own number. If Dean had Sam's phone, then he'd answer or do something to ensure Sam knew he was okay. The phone rang and rang before Sam heard his own voice speak on behalf of the voicemail. "Not good." Sam spoke to himself in heavy concern. Dean was mad, but even then, the Winchesters always put one another's safety before anything else. Dean would have let him know he was okay.

"Something wrong?" Joel asked as he stifled a yawn and rolled out of bed.

"Dean never came home.'

"But I see a family of moths did." The man pointed to several moths clinging to the room's ceiling.

"Where could he be?" Sam asked knowing that Joel didn't have the answer.

"Suppose we went out to look for him..." Joel started knowing Dean's reputation as an impressive Hunter. "Do you think we could find him?" He watched Sam think. "What about the note you left?"

"If he had seen the note, chances are he would have come here. And as far as finding him if we search. We would never find him, not if he didn't want us to find him." Sam said as he thought. "Where would a massively over-sized tiger wander in Montana?"

"You should have put a collar on him." Joel tried to lighten the mood. "Then someone could bring him back."

"A collar?" Sam asked, the word prompting an idea. "I've got something better." His eyes lit up as he flipped open his laptop. "When we got in the fight Dean stole my cell phone and ran off. If he still has it, we can simply track him to it."

"Ah." Joel smirked. "Hunter 101."

"The basics get you far." Sam affirmed as he began tracking his stolen cell phone. The ping landed it by an Italian restaurant not terribly far away on Main Street. "He's not far." Sam smiled.

Together they traveled in the Impala to the restaurant where the cell phone had been tracked. Using Dean's phone, Sam called the cell phone and they listened for the ring. "This way." Sam led as he followed the annoying jingle of his smartphone.

"This isn't looking good." Joel voiced as they made their way into an alleyway that was too clearly tiger-free. "I don't see him."

"Shit." Sam cursed. He sighed heavily and spoke desperately. "Please be at the camp."

Back in the Impala, the two men drove in search of Sam's tiger at their makeshift camp. To his disappointment, Dean wasn't there either. "I'm sorry, Sammy." Joel said.

"No offense, but the name's Sam." Sam corrected him, a bit frustrated. Only Dean could call him Sammy and now Dean wasn't around. Even if he was, he couldn't speak. It was a sharp reminder of how much he missed his big brother.

"My bad."

"No, Joel." Sam sighed. "I'm sorry. Dean calls me Sammy."

"And you're worried about him." Joel finished. "I get it."

"Yeah."

"So now what?" Joel asked. "Search for Dean? Confront the dryads? Hunt the druid?"

Sam couldn't believe how long the to-do list was. Generally a hunt was two steps. One: Identify the monster. Two: Kill it. "You're going to think I'm a failure of a Hunter..." Sam started.

"You want to find your brother?" Joel asked, but he already knew this. "The Men of Letters briefed me on the two of you. They say that you're unhealthily co-dependent."

Sam chuckled un-amused. "Maybe they're right. He's all I've got in this world." Sam looked down at Dean's cell phone. "Sometimes it feels like he's all I've ever actually had in this world."

"The life of a Hunter." Joel added. "It is... no luxury."

"You got that right."

"So where do we look for this feline friend of yours?"

Sam sat and thought about all they had been facing. The druid. The dryads. Agitha. The crazed animals. Animal Control. A sinking fear made its way to Sam's gut. "I have one last place to look."


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46**

The morning came and Curtis was in a good mood for the first time since the tigers had escaped. It was true he hadn't yet caught them both, but given the immense size of the tiger he had caught, he felt he deserved a pat on the back. The average size of a tiger was somewhere around 9 feet from nose to the end of the tail and about 450 pounds. They had measured and weighed the tiger in the cage at 11 feet, 4 inches and 572 pounds! The tiger was by far the largest creature he'd ever worked with. It was clearly the alpha-male of the zoo.

He pulled up to the animal control center at the same time as Lucy (something they'd gotten down to near clockwork over the years they'd worked together.) They were always the first in the office and the last out. Neither of them had a family, so there wasn't a strong desire to escape work and relax at home. Their jobs helped give them both a sense of worth.

"Good morning!" Lucy said cheerfully. She always claimed to be a night owl, but Curtis was pretty certain he'd never seen her anything less that perky, morning or night.

"Mornin'." He said as he practically felt his mouth drying up as he thought about just how much he needed a cup o' joe.

"I'll get the coffee brewing." Lucy announced through a knowing smirk as she unlocked the door and headed in. Curtis followed her in and flipped the lights on as she headed over to the small kitchenette area to start the coffee. Everything seemed normal. He made his way into the back and found the tiger seemingly asleep, so he left the lights off. The cat was a threat, but Lucy wasn't wrong. He was just an animal far out of his natural habitat. There was no reason to be excessively mean to the thing. "Coffee's on." Lucy's voice came sweetly from the other room.

"Thanks!" Curtis called out in a groggy voice. He was neither a night owl nor a morning person. He was just a grump, plain and simple. It was a wonder that Lucy seemed to enjoy working with him so much. If she wasn't so much younger than him he wondered what could become of them. It was all for naught, though. The fact was that she _was_ that much younger than him, so instead she'd just be a good friend and colleague.

Several minutes went by before Lucy brought out a plain white Styrofoam cup full of steaming brown water while Curtis began answering emails on his computer. "Thanks." He said again.

"Not a problem." She took her place at her desk not far from him and began her work. It'd still be over an hour before the rest of the employees showed up.

Silence fell upon the room save the clacking of fingers working across keyboards to get work done. Neither worker took their eyes off their monitors or their attention away from their tasks until the unwanted sound of a steel door creaking open found its way into their ears. Both looked nervously at each other before Curtis finally stood up. "Get a gun."

Lucy stood and did as she was told. She armed herself with a tranquilizer gun and waited for more instructions. The older gentleman slowly approached the mostly closed door to the back room where the tiger's cage was. As he nudged the door open just enough to peek in, he noticed the cage was empty. "It's loose." He whispered back to his backup.

"What do we do?"

"What we're trained to do. Either put it back in its cage, or put it down." He said plainly, but he knew the woman behind him would much rather take the first option.

He reached his hand in to flip the lights on to help reveal the cat's hiding place, but as he did that a sharp pain screamed out from his arm. He whipped his hand back to his body and found deep claw marks down it and a fair amount of blood dripping. "Shit!" He exclaimed. "Lucy!" He shouted as he kicked the door open.

Lucy didn't miss a second. The moment the door was open and the cat was revealed, she pulled the trigger and watched the tranquilizer dart lodge itself in the tiger's neck. Unfortunately, it didn't lodge that deeply. After a few seconds and a handful of slow steps forward by the tiger, the dart fell out. "I'll get another one." Lucy turned to get another dart when Curtis hollered at it.

"Don't turn your back to it!" He explained. "Tigers try to pounce from behind. The more you show your back the more prone it is to come for you."

His words had the desired effect. She stopped and faced the tiger, unsure of what to do. "Then what do we do?"

"Back away to the door." Curtis explained. "We'll have to call this in."

They both began backing away to the door, but the tiger was no ordinary tiger. Dean was smarter than some cat. Before either of them could reach the door the cat ran at them. Lucy let out a scream as she watched the massive tiger tackle her coworker. "Curtis!" She hollered.

Curtis fought as best he could. He grabbed the cat's two massive paws and tried to keep them from slicing, but that left the maw open for an attack. Lucy wasn't useless, though. She saw the problem her boss had and ran to his aid. She threw herself on the tiger's back and tried with all her might to keep the tiger's head from reaching down to his prey's neck.

The tiger was clearly overwhelmed and a bit taken aback by the sudden assault from behind and began whipping his head about to free himself. However, Lucy wasn't tossed off. Instead, the tiger pulled his paw free with a mighty tug and slashed at Curtis.

Both animal control officers heard the audible tear of Curtis' clothing and the pain-ridden yell as the claws penetrated his skin deeply. "Curtis!" Lucy shouted again.

"Get the gun!" Curtis shouted.

Dean heard those words and felt the weight of Lucy on his back lift as she bolted to the other room to get a real gun. The cat turned and chased the petite woman, but was a second too late as she slammed the door closed to the room where the guns were stored. Dean tore and pounded at the door, but it was to no avail, so instead, he turned back to the older man.

He charged at Curtis when the front door of the room suddenly flew open and in ran another young man. Dean recognized the man. It was Sammy. Little brother Sammy. Yet, he couldn't focus on that. He needed to deal with the animal control officers. That's what he was tasked with. He had to do it. He wanted to do it.

"DEAN!" Sam shouted as he placed himself between the older man and the gargantuan tiger. "Stop!" He yelled. "What are you doing?" He couldn't believe that his brother would go to such lengths just to get free. That's when he noticed it. Staring right back at him.

Red eyes.

"Dean…" Sam gasped. "He got you." Sam wasn't exactly sure how the druid took over an animal's mind, but he had shown on multiple occasions that he could, and according to Joel, it was permanent. That didn't cause Sam to lose hope. He knew if there was anyone stubborn enough to refuse to obey, it was Dean.

Sam extended his hand toward Dean to try to show that he didn't want a fight. While previously Sam was unafraid of Dean and his mass, it was different this time. Even in the midst of a fight, Sam felt safe around Dean. He could see it in his big-brother-green-eyes. Now, Sam saw nothing but blood red staring hungrily back at him. He no longer felt safe.

"Easy, Dean." Sam cooed. All he got in response was a deep and threatening growl that legitimately frightened Sam.

"Get behind me." Curtis grunted. "This is our mistake. You don't gotta' die for it."

Sam didn't turn around. "I'm not gonna' die."

"That's a tiger, boy!" He warned Sam, as if he didn't know that." At just that moment, Lucy stepped back into the room with an impressive shotgun loaded in tote. Both men saw this and reacted. "Shoot it!" Curtis hollered.

"DON'T!" Sam cried out desperately as he quickly shifted his position to be between Curtis and Dean and at the same time Lucy and Dean. "Don't kill him!"

"Move!" Lucy demanded as she took aim.

"No." Sam stood firm as he watched her finger on the trigger as well as the tiger slowly inching toward him. Lucy grumbled before taking a big step to the side so she had a clear shot.

"Don't pull that trigger!" Sounded the voice of a man oozing a thick British accent. Everyone turned and saw Joel step into the building with a handgun pointed at Lucy.

"No, Joel." Sam's attention swung, being pulled in too many directions at once. "Don't shoot her!"

"I won't as long as she doesn't kill the cat." Joel warned.

"If I don't shoot the tiger, then we all die." Lucy informed. To help make her point, Dean pounced on Sam, knocking him heavily to the ground and mounting him. Sam struggled with all his might to dodge and resist each swipe of Dean's massive claws. He could feel the claws glaze by his skin leaving cuts, but so far nothing serious.

Before Dean could get in any real damage on Sam, Curtis was up and tackling Dean off of Sam with a pain-induced grunt. Lucy remained frozen as a handgun stayed steadily aimed at her.

The tiger quickly recovered and took a swipe at Sam, effectively ripping his tee shirt off and leaving deep slices across his stomach over to his side. Sam cried out in pain as red began seeping down. Sam kicked Dean hard in the face, which prompted the cat to retreat back to the less capable target: Curtis.

He pounced on Curtis and was ready to finish him off. He took his mighty maw and placed it viciously around the animal control officer's neck. "DEAN!" Sam shouted desperately at the top of his lungs. He knew if his brother went through with this, willingly or not, the guilt would never leave. It would be just like when he was recovering from being a demon. Nothing but guilt all day every day.

At the younger brother's cry, Dean stopped. Curtis remained as still as a statue with a frozen cat's unsure fangs gripping his neck as the tiger hesitantly turned his attention to Sam. The sound of a shotgun cocking filled the pregnant silence. "Ah, ah, ah." Joel warned Lucy as he pulled the hammer back on his gun. "Don't do it."

"But it's gonna' kill him!" She argued. If this was just some tiger, Sam couldn't have agreed more. But it wasn't. This was Dean. He'd do anything to save him, except kill an innocent. He hoped to death that Joel's gun was only for show. But with the British Men of Letters, one couldn't be sure. Human life at an individual basis wasn't a high priority to them.

"He won't." Sam assured her without taking his eyes off Dean.

"I can't take that chance!" Lucy insisted.

"He's not just a tiger!" Sam finally shouted. "He's my big brother." The room looked at Sam like he was an escapee from the mental asylum. "I know it doesn't make sense, but it's true. Dean is not actually a tiger, he's a human.

"Are you crazy?" Lucy asked.

Sam ignored her and focused on Dean. "Dean, don't do this." He begged. "You don't want to hurt these people. Remember? We came to save them all." Sam's voice reeked of love and desperation. "Don't let the druid control you. You're stronger than him."

"He can't understand you." Curtis whispered, trying to move his body as little as possible to avoid alarming the big cat. "He's just an animal. Let Lucy shoot him." Curtis was begging. "Please!"

Lucy was starting to question the possibility of Sam's words. She recalled the story that Officer Stone had told about the tiger saving everyone and driving off with a man. She asked Sam. "Are you the one that dealt with the moose? That the tiger helped?" Sam nodded.

"Plus, he's been sleeping in a motel with me." Sam explained. "He helped stop the stampede." He reminded her.

"And his eyes." She stated as realization dawned on her. "They were so strange. I tried to get Curtis to look at them, but he didn't believe me." She was clearly recalling them in her mind's eye. "They were human eyes. Green. Right?"

"Yes. Dean has green eyes." Sam affirmed with a smile. "I know it makes no sense, but it's the truth. Dean is not a tiger. Not really. He's my big brother and he's been cursed. You probably don't believe in curses, but please believe me." Sam's puppy-dog eyes were clearly working with this woman. The shotgun slowly lowered toward the ground as Sam turned his attention to the tiger with Curtis' neck in his mouth.

"Dean." He said again desperately. "Please don't do this. Let him go." Sam slowly approached his big brother. "Let us help you!" Sam finally got close enough to put a careful hand on Dean's forehead. The cat dropped Curtis and looked up at Sam. Sam could see the battle going on in Dean. His eyes were losing the red hue, but it wasn't going away entirely. "Come back to me, Dean."

Dean started acting strange, almost drunk. It was as if he couldn't control his own body. He was fighting against the influence of the druid. "Please, Dean!" Sam said desperately.

"Dean, come back to us." Joel added. This was a mistake. Dean saw the British Man of Letters and immediately went rigid. Sam saw the red of Dean's eyes fade more, but the human green never came back.

Suddenly, the big cat roared, knocked Sam down hard, and ran at Joel who was still standing in the door way. He took a big swipe at the man's arm as he bolted out the door and toward the forest just outside of town.

"Shit!" Sam hissed. He had gotten away. He surveyed the situation. All in all, he couldn't complain too much. A lot more damage could have been done. Everyone was alive. Joel was sliced on the arm. Curtis was going to need the hospital, but Sam could tell he would live. And Sam himself would need some stitches and would be sore, but he'd had worse. No one had died and Dean seemed to have been freed from the druid's control. Now they just needed to figure out how to get him back to his right mind, and ultimately, back to being a human.


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47**

Bearthian sensed the connection between him and the tiger sever. He didn't like that. The tiger was unusually large and with the mind of a Hunter, very dangerous. He knew that the big cat wouldn't immediately revert back to his right mind. No, the Hunter would be in quite the haze as he tried to mentally recover from the complete dominance the druid had over him.

He called out to some animals to rally to him. It was time they took care of the tiger before he became a real problem. It would be best to get him while he was confused and not at his best.

Within just mere minutes, two bears, a black bear and a grizzly bear, came to Bearthian, as well as the remaining female dryad. The bears' eyes turned a deep red and they were ready to do the druid's bidding. The dryad didn't need to be told what to do. She could feel Bearthian's orders. She, with the bears, marched into the forest. They didn't know where the tiger was, but the druid was confident that his loyal comrades would find him before the day was done.

That was the tiger, but Bearthian also knew that the human Hunter was no small matter either. The animal control officers didn't worry him, but the tall man who belonged to the tiger did. Hunters always had a tenacity that endured until they got what they wanted. He needed to take care of the human before the human took care of him.

He rallied a few more animals from the local forest, feeling like he used just about the last of his powers for the day to do so, and sent them on his hunt. With some luck, both of Bearthian's major problems would be solved. Now he would rest. He had big plans for tomorrow and he would need all the energy he could store up.


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48**

Sam grumbled to himself as he trudged through the Flathead National Forest in search of a lost tiger. He had bandaged himself up in the car and allowed Joel to stitch him up where needed. He wasn't the best he'd ever been, but he was pretty sure that the scratches would heal as long as he took enough care not to reopen them.

The two Hunters couldn't have looked more opposite. On one hand was the stereotypical British man hiking through the forest in a refined, pin-stripe suit and a matching hat, being careful not to get his snazzy leather shoes muddy. On the other hand was the rough-n-tumble country American boy Hunter bare-torso, save the bandages covering his wounds, blue jeans, and hiking boots. Complete opposites, but both incredibly skilled and dangerous.

Neither Hunter knew exactly what to do. Both were trained trackers, but neither had experience tracking a tiger. They made their way through the forest in relative silence knowing that each and every animal watching them could be a potential threat. There was no telling, save the color of the eyes, whether or not an animal was just an animal, or if it was a soldier in the druid's militia.

"You weren't really going to shoot that woman, were you?" Sam finally broke the silence as they kept their eyes peeled for any sign of a tiger.

"If you make too much noise he'll know we're coming." Joel said quietly back.

Sam knew he was right, but he still had to know. Was the man he was working with really that blasé about murder? Sure, it would have been to defend Dean, but the woman wouldn't have known she was shooting a human, and he was attacking Curtis, but still. Was Joel willing to kill humans? "I know, just answer the question."

"I would have." Joel said. "Yes." He paused for a moment. "But only if I had to."

"If she was going to shoot Dean?"

"Obviously." Joel stated. "Dean, as I've heard and read, is a very talented Hunter. Smart. Cunning. Strong. Skilled. Dedicated." Sam nodded his head as Joel described his brother quite accurately. "His life is more valuable than some animal control officer's." Joel explained. "Dean can do this world a lot of good if he chooses to."

"So that makes it okay to kill someone?" Sam asked.

"First of all…" The British man was clearly getting irritated and defensive. "I was doing it for you." Sam couldn't argue with that. Obviously Sam would rather Dean live than be shot by some woman with a shotgun. "And second, yes. That makes it okay to kill someone. One for the many and all that."

"Right." Sam said absently. He hoped that calling the British Men of Letters wouldn't turn out to have been a mistake. Or worse, that working with them in the long-run would.

As they continued through the forest they ran across nothing unusual. There were the occasional critters that caught their attention, but no tigers. The scenery was all dense, but beautiful. It was clear why so many people enjoyed vacationing and hiking in the forest. It was also surprising to Sam that not more people got lost in the trees.

"Sun's going down soon." Joel stated plainly. "Still no signs of a tiger."

Sam couldn't believe that the whole day had almost already gone by. He looked to the sky. It was starting to get dark. However, he could tell immediately that it wasn't because the sun was just going down. There was clearly a storm coming, and by the looks of it, it would hit soon. "Storm's coming too."

"Looks like we're in for a fun night." Joel joked sarcastically.

"You don't have to stay out here any longer than you want to." Sam offered. "Though I do appreciate your help."

"And what?" Joel asked. "You're going to stick it out all by yourself?"

"He's my brother." Sam explained. "I'll stay out here even if it kills me. I have to find him. He'd do the same for me."

"Touchy and all that." Joel said. "But I can't leave you. The Men of Letters sent me to help you, so that's what I have to do."

"Suit yourself." Sam said, grateful to have backup in the woods at night. "I just hope you don't mind getting that suit wet. Looks nice."

"This one?" Joel asked as he gave it a careless tug. "It's old."

"Nicer than anything I got." Sam stated through a chuckle.

"You don't even seem to own a shirt." Joel laughed.

"Not a clean one."

Not even an hour later their forecast had come true. Thunder rumbled in the sky as lightning waltzed between clouds above them. Rain poured heavily down impairing vision and hearing. It wasn't long before the dirt floor became muddy and difficult to walk in.

"You sure you want to stay?" Joel hollered at Sam from behind.

"I have to!" Sam insisted. "I can't leave my brother out here."

"We don't even know that he _is_ out here!" Joel reminded him. Sam knew that was true. For all they knew Dean may have doubled back and taken shelter in town. "We should head back."

"I can't give up!"

"I'm not suggesting we give up!" The British Hunter explained. "I'm suggesting we get safe so we can keep the search going. I'm going to find your brother with you." Joel promised. "But we can't do that if you die of hypothermia." His voice grew grimmer. "Or if we get mauled by some bear out here.

Sam sighed heavily. He knew Joel was right. It was too dark and rainy to even see anymore. His body was so goosebump-covered he was sure he would get hypothermia if he stayed out any longer. The Montana nights were cold and the water didn't help. "Fine!" Sam caved in. "We-"

"Look out!" Joel hollered. The warning came in just enough time. Sam wasn't sure what was happening, but he instinctively dove to the ground. It was a good thing, too! Just as he hit the floor, the massive form of a bald eagle flew over and just barely missed where his head was. However, that wasn't the whole of the attack. A female mule deer trampled over Sam as he remained on the ground, but fortunately, since it was a smaller female, it didn't do a lot of damage to Sam's muscled body.

 _BOOM!_ Echoed Joel's shotgun as he took a shot at the deer before Sam got up. The shot hit and the deer went down. However, the eagle was still there, and Sam got the idea there were probably more animals to come. He pulled the handgun he carried out of the back of his pants' waistline and searched for the flying eagle. He could see the silhouette flying with each lightning strike and took shots trying to end its assault on them.

As he dealt with the eagle, Joel dodged out of the way of another mule deer that charged into the fight. This one was a large buck. He took another shot with his shotgun and hit, but this one didn't go down so easily. Bloody and clearly in pain, the rampaging deer charged again with his sharp antlers angled right at Joel's massive chest.

The Hunter dodged the attack again, but as the deer ran by it turned and gave him a strong kick with its hind legs. Joel felt the wind get knocked out of him as he flew down to the ground and landed painfully on roots and rocks. The deer turned and charged again.

Sam saw what was happening and turned his attention to Joel and the deer. He took aim with his pistol and took several shots as the mule deer bulleted for Joel. As he aimed and shot the eagle swooped down and grabbed Sam's long hair and began pulling it violently. It hurt badly enough that Sam was afraid the bird would literally tear the hair out, or worse, some of the scalp. But he didn't have time to worry about that at the moment. He was saving Joel.

Just before the deer rammed Joel with his antlers, it succumbed to the bullet wounds and collapsed mid-charge. As its heavy head went down, the antlers got stuck in the mud, and like a pole-vaulter, the deer's body flipped and the entirety of its weight landed on Joel. The British Hunter cried out in pain as the deer's weight forced his arm awkwardly against a rock and pressed down hard, effectively snapping the bone.

Sam knew Joel was hurt, but he wasn't dead. The eagle moved from the hair to Sam's neck and face, trying to dig and tear with its massive talons. Sam wiggled around enough to avoid any major damage to his eyes, but could feel the tears on his forehead, neck, and shoulders. He never knew eagles were so dangerous!

As the eagle reached for another grab, Sam surprised the creature by quickly grabbing its big talon. The bird panicked and tried to fly up to escape, but Sam held on too tightly. The eagle squawked and cried, but was quickly silenced as Sam put a bullet through the beast's body. He didn't care to kill animals, but he had to do what he had to do. He was not about to die out in these woods. Dean needed him. The deaths of all these animals were on the hands of the druid and no one else.

With the animal soldiers neutralized, Sam and Joel both recomposed themselves as best they could. Neither of them could deny the simple truth: they looked like crap! Joel nursed his arm, trying to keep the pain at bay and not do any more damage than was already done. On top of that he had plenty of scrapes and bruises from all his diving and landing. Sam was a bloody mess. He looked like the survivor at the end of a horror movie just before the credits scrolled. He had the cuts from Dean's claws, now exposed as the rain and activity loosened the bandages until they finally fell off. He had the scrapes and bruises from the bighorn sheep and from all the diving he'd been doing from them, the moose, and now the deer. He also had the cuts and slices from the bald eagle's relentless assault. Those were the most concerning at the moment. They were fresh and still leaking blood at a steady pace. Whether or not he wanted to, now they needed to head back. Joel was right. Dean wouldn't benefit at all from them dying.

Shivering, Sam and Joel began their trek back to the Impala. The rain showed no signs of letting up any hour soon and the lightning and thunder had only grown more intense. The recent animal attack had both Hunters on code-red alert, their eyes rapidly scanning every bush and niche for a possible druid-controlled creature.

Thunder crashed loudly, and Sam's ears perked up. It wasn't the thunder that had caught his attention, but something hidden under it. Something else had made a loud rumbling noise and Sam was pretty sure he was familiar with the source. "Wait." He held his hand up to an injured and tired Joel.

"Hear something?"

The distinct and not-so-distant reverberation of a tiger's growl pierced through the heavy rain and entered Sam's ear bringing a smile of relief to his bloody and tired features. "I hear a tiger."

"What's the plan?" Joel asked. "If he attacks, we're dead." He warned. "Look at us." Joel insisted. "Broken arm. Bruises. Tiger scratches. Eagle cuts. Hypothermia. We're not in a position to fight. I can't shoot with one hand."

"Trade me guns." Sam insisted. "You can shoot this one-handed. I'll take the shotgun."

"So we're going in?"

"You up for it?"

"No." Joel laughed honestly. "But I'm here to help you. Whatever you do, I do."

"I'm going in." Sam said. "My asshole of a brother needs me right now."


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49**

The rain seemed to pour harder, almost like it was synced up to Sam's heart as they sprinted toward the tiger growls. It sounded like Dean was in a fight or something. The need to help his brother, even though they were not too pleased with each other at the moment, pushed him to force his tired and wounded body harder.

When they reached the dense forested area where the sounds were coming from, they caught sight of Dean. He was definitely in trouble! Attacking together against the tiger were two bears and a creature with a woman' torso and a deer's body. Joel identified it audibly, though they both came to the conclusion. "A dryad."

"That's not good." Sam stated forebodingly. If the story and evidence they had seen at the attacks was any indication, which he was pretty sure it was, then the dryads could kill from just minor injuries.

Dean was lucky that he was such an unnaturally enormous tiger or he'd have been dead long ago. Fortune had it that he was actually equal in size to one of the bears (a black bear) and not that much smaller than the other (a grizzly bear). Sam collected himself, assessing the situation, as Dean skillfully defended himself from the druid-controlled beasts. One thing made him very nervous. Dean wasn't fighting like himself trapped in a tiger's body. It was more like watching an actual tiger fight for its life. Sam couldn't help but worry if Dean was even in there.

Regardless, Sam jumped into the brawl. If Dean died, he could be positive he wouldn't get his brother back, so he had to act. Behind him, Joel took aim with his handgun. That made Sam nervous. Not because he was afraid Joel would miss or betray them, but because if they did save Dean then there was surely going to be a fight. The one thing Dean had told him _not_ to do was call the British Men of Letters. Not only did he call them, but one was helping save him. Dean would be furious.

As Sam rushed into the fight, shotgun loaded, but with limited ammo, he watched as Dean pounced onto the grizzly bear, taking it down to the mud with him. It was going to be a vicious fight. Sam watched from the corner of his eyes as Dean and the bear both exchanged potentially lethal swipes with their massive paws and threatening claws. However, as much as Sam wanted to help him, there were two other opponents to deal with. "I'll get the dryad." Sam called out. Joel didn't respond with words. He ran at the black bear, clearly confident he could handle that.

The dryad saw Sam coming and started off by tossing her spear at him. Sam got lucky. With the rain and darkness it was hard to see the weapon coming, but he managed a last second dodge to avoid a lethal dosage of dryad poison. With her spear gone, she charged Sam with her antlers down.

The Hunter watched a bit nervously as she plowed closer. He took aim with his shotgun and blasted her. Her body erupted in a torrent of blood and flesh. But she wasn't dead. Sam watched wide-eyed as the mortally wounded dryad clung to life to fulfill her mission from the druid. Sam cocked the shotgun and took aim again.

Surprisingly, she had it in her to leap at him, landing with a kick, knocking Sam on his rear. From the ground, Sam tried to shoot the creature, but she knocked the shotgun right out of his tired hands. Joel was right. They were not in the position to fight. They were too injured and weary. Taking turns with her hooves, she stomped Sam. He was fortunate that she was a female dryad and had about the weight of a small female deer or he'd be taking worse wounds than he was. He tried with all his Hunter talents to dodge and guard as she assaulted him.

Joel dealt with the black bear. The beast first charged for the tiger, but one shot from the handgun changed that plan. The bear took a quick turn toward Joel and charged with his fangs on frightful display. With a broken arm and a bruised body, dodging and avoiding became difficult, but not impossible. With pain in his arm, the British Hunter managed to avoid most the swipes the bear took at him. Finally, tired of the failed attempts, the black bear stood on his hind legs with a roar, and then came down hard on Joel.

He cried out in pain as his broken arm was jostled about and the weight of a bear crashed down on his gut. The black bear roared out ferociously, but the Hunter showed no fear. Instead of panicking, he did as he was so thoroughly trained to do: kill.

Joel took the handgun and placed it to the black bear's massive head. Turning his head away to try to protect his ears, he shot the gun. The bear fell heavily on him. He was alive, but trapped. Hopefully Sam wouldn't need him for the rest of the battle. With a broken arm and a considerable amount of fatigue, there was no hope of getting the bear off of him quickly. However, he knew with some wiggling he could manage.

Sam crawled about on the muddy floor, his bare skin covered in mud and his jeans becoming dirty trash with every desperate dodge and weave he performed to keep himself alive. The dryad attempted to stomp his face in, but Sam grabbed her two front hooves as she tried to slam them down and shoved them to the side. She stumbled and provided Sam the opportunity to get to his feet. He ran for the shotgun, but the dryad ran faster.

Dean pummeled the grizzly bear with his massive claws. The bear had no idea how to handle the beast he was locked in combat with. Not only was the animal a non-native, but it was absolutely gargantuan! The tiger was about the same size as the bear!

The bear got a couple good socks in, but Dean didn't flinch. He was in a fight for his life and wasn't about to lose. He slammed his whole body into the bear and knocked it down into the mud. The moment it hit the ground, the tiger pounced it, pinning the large beast to the ground. The moment Dean mounted the bear, he heard the agonized scream of Sam shatter the heavy thudding of the rain. The tiger looked over to Sam and it was at that moment that the yellow tiger eyes faded and the Winchester greens came back.

Sam remained sprawled out in the mud, just a few inches too far away from the shotgun to grab it. In his back was the poison-tipped spear of the dryad sticking out. Dean roared a roar so mighty, the Hunters could have sworn they had felt the forest shake.

The tiger quickly crushed the bear's throat and raced to his brother. The dryad was totally unprepared for a fight with the massive tiger. With her spear in the man's back and her body severely injured from his shotgun, she was without hope. Dean took her down in one tackle and finished her off. In mere moments, all that was left of the female dryad was a patch of withering flowers.

Dean focused on Sammy. He used his big mouth to pull the spear out of Sam and looked his brother in the eyes. Sam was struggling. It was clear that the poison was running through his body. Dean didn't know what to do. The people in the stores only had mere minutes before they were dead.

Joel, having managed to wiggle his way out of under the black bear, made his way over and immediately knew what had happened. Dean roared viciously at him to protect his now dying brother. Joel didn't retreat. "Easy, man." Joel said. "I'm here to help." He approached Sam and investigated the wound. "Okay. The stab's not that deep, so we have a few minutes, but we can't dilly-dally." Dean just watched the man cautiously. "He's going to die if we leave him like this."

Dean watched Sammy roll about in pain. His skin was going pale, his wounds had reopened, and he looked like crap. Things were not looking good for the Winchesters. Reluctantly, he looked to the strange man for guidance and help. As a tiger, he felt ill-equipped to handle this situation. He wasn't sure who the man was, but he had a guess, and if Sam lived, there'd be hell to pay. But for now, they just needed to save his little brother.

"Okay, what we need is something nearby to counteract the poison." Joel explained. The tiger looked at him like he was in a dreamworld. Where on earth would one find a poison remedy in the woods. The Hunter went on. "Now, we're in Montana, so the only thing that comes to mind is jewelweed." Joel looked around. "It's dark, but I'm sure it's out here. It's not an uncommon plant. You'll recognize it by it's small orange flower. The flower only has three pedals and a black center. You can stick it in your mouth. It's quite harmless."

He didn't need to hear anything more. Dean was already off into the woods in search of this poison-fighting plant. He searched by trees and in patches of weeds and brush. He looked around rocks and anywhere else he could think of. Where was he going to find jewelweed?

Sam's eyelids began to flutter rapidly and Joel knew that meant they were running out of time. He placed a hand on Sam's forehead and could feel how hot he was becoming. "Hold on, Yankee." He looked out into the darkness. "If this Dean is as spectacular as everyone says he is, he'll be back soon." He took Sam's hand. "Don't worry."

The younger Winchester opened his eyes as best he could. "'m not...scared." He managed to get the fragments of words out. "Dean will..." He shuttered as if he was cold despite his body being a human furnace at the moment. "save me."

"Right, lad." Joel affirmed. "He's going to save you." Joel wasn't sure what to do. He knew that he needed to be back in Singleshot hunting the druid if he wanted to get back to England anytime soon, but he wasn't like some of the other agents. He couldn't just abandon someone in their hour of need. Plus, he knew that if he abandoned Sam now, he'd have a tiger that would hunt him down and end him. He had to stay where he was. Sam needed him.

Dean looked desperately, knowing that time was running out. Luck smiled upon him as his tiger-eyes spotted the very recognizable three-pedal flower that was jewelweed. With a quick nip of his mouth, the flower was his and he was on his way to Sammy.

Sammy heard over the rain the very recognizable sound of a massive tiger's paws slamming into the ground. Dean was here. He turned his head to the side to see his brother, but his vision was going blurry. Suddenly, his body began convulsing. Dean's eyes went wide with worry. "Don't worry!" Joel said, knowing they both were on the verge of panic. "We've got some time still." He explained. "He's not frothing at the mouth. Give me the jewelweed." Again, Dean wasn't sure if this man was trustworthy or not, but he didn't have another option. He relinquished the flower to the man with the thick British accent and sat back to watch.

The man rolled up the flowers and stuck them in his mouth, getting them nice and wet. He pulled them out and looked at the tiger. "The saliva can help bring out the medicinal juices of the flower more quickly." He then jammed some of the flowers into the spear wound and the rest into Sam's mouth. "Suck on it." Joel instructed. "It should help."

He placed a hand on Sam's forehead and looked at the tiger. "I can't make any promises, but this is the best I can do for now." He explained. "Now he needs a cold bath to lower his temperature." Joel stood up. "Listen to me." He said. Dean's full attention was on the man. "Our motel room is number fourteen. Okay?" He watched the tiger nod his understanding. "Take Sam there. I don't know how you'll do it, but you need to get him in a cold bath. As cold as it will go. Once his temperature drops, pull him out and get him warmed up." The tiger nodded more. "Hopefully that will do it." Joel said. "The poison isn't a natural one to the world. The hospital won't help. They'll just get confused and hold him there. This is the best option I think, but it's your call. You're his brother."

Dean went and got in a prone position by Sam. "I'll help you get him on your back." Joel explained. "Then you're on your own. I'll meet you back at the motel, but it'll take me some time to get there." Joel used his good arm, which was fortunately enough given his very muscular figure, to place Sam on the tiger's back. Sam's faced planted firmly into Dean's fur and a bit of comfort rippled through him. He was with his big brother again. If he was going to die, there's no place he'd rather be.

Once Sam was secured to his back, Dean was off. Fortunately, he could smell the way to Singleshot. Once there, he'd have no trouble finding the motel. Even in the rain. Joel faded out of view and Dean wondered if they'd actually see him again. He was grateful for the man's help, but if he was a British Man of Letters as Dean figured he was, he couldn't help but assume there was some ulterior motive behind his help.


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50**

The city was quiet due to the storm, which was itself, the only noise heard. Dean ran with the determination of a high school quarterback trying to impress a college scout. He could feel Sam's body had gone totally limp. Even under the rain he could feel the heat radiating from Sammy's body. He knew he needed to get the man into some cold water!

It wasn't more than a few minutes to the motel once he had entered into the city. When he got to the hotel, he found their room and busted the door in. They definitely had caused the motel manager more damage and hardship than he deserved, but it's not like they had another choice.

Dean kicked the door shut, though it wouldn't really latch since he'd kicked it in, and practically flew to the bathroom. He used his strong mouth the yank Sammy's remaining clothes off and dumped him hastily into the tub. Using his massive paw, he pushed the water on and set it to the coldest setting.

The water cascaded over Sam's sweat-covered body and Dean wouldn't have been surprised if he had heard steam hissing. What really worried Dean was that Sam didn't noticeably react to the freezing water in the slightest. No man liked freezing water splashing over him, so Sam was either the weirdest guy alive, or he was far too out of it to even notice what was happening. As much as Dean could have argued for the first, he knew it was the second reason.

Once the tub was full, Dean shut the water off and let Sammy float motionlessly in the chilled tub. He was nervous because he had no idea how long he was supposed to let him stay in there. He wasn't a doctor nor did he have someone around to guide him.

Unsure of other options, he let Sam float there. He carefully placed an ear to Sam's chest and was relieved to hear a heartbeat. That at least gave him the comfort of knowing that he was alive. After just a few more minutes Sam began to groan as he came out of his toxic coma.

Dean nearly leapt up and down for joy, but he knew the work wasn't done and they weren't out of the woods yet. Dean threw his two front paws into the cold bath and pulled Sam's naked body out of the icy mess. He hoisted him up onto his back and carried him to the bed.

With Sammy placed under the covers, Dean curled up under them with him and helped warm his frozen brother up. Sam's breathing was still shallow and his awareness was almost at zero, but Dean could confidently feel his heart beating. While everything wasn't over, it seemed that Sam was going to live. Despite that, Dean felt that it would be better to stay by his side for a while.

As Dean watched over his brother, he waited for that strange British man to show up. He knew it was only a matter of time. The very thought made Dean furious. How many times had he told Sam not to call the British Men of Letters? More than he could count. He looked down at his weak little brother. He couldn't restrain his head from shaking disapprovingly. He never learned. He trusted everyone too easily. Ruby was a big time first mistake. But apparently he didn't learn. Then it was Roweena. Now it's the British Men of Letters. Dean knew Sam was no idiot. It wasn't that he truly trusted them. Not like he trusted Dean. But he trusted them enough to let them get a foot in the door. And often, that was enough for them to kick the whole door down. Dean had paid the price for that more than once. Now, with Sammy working with the British Men of Letters, Dean felt like he'd somehow end up paying it again.

Despite his brooding, Dean's big brother instincts wouldn't allow him to leave until he knew Sammy was okay. He just hoped that would be sooner rather than later. The last thing he wanted was to have to interact with that strange man again. He knew he was a British Man of Letters and wanted nothing to do with him. Truthfully, at the moment, he didn't really even want to be with his brother, but the bond of blood was too deep to abandon him in his hour of need.


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51**

Bearthian once again approached the giant prison that the humans called the zoo. He had already tried this twice, but now there was no one to stop him. The tiger-man was dealt with and the Hunters were out of the picture.

It was empty after hours despite the last two attempts he had made. It was possible that all the humans were too afraid to guard the place. Especially since the ones that had been were comfortably locked away at his secret grove where no one would find them.

With a few hours of rest to have recharged his powers and with his large dryad beside him, the druid went from cage to cage, pen to pen, releasing every animal and using his powers to mind control them. He was too weak to put his ultimate plan into action, but this was a start. He needed a day's rest to gain enough power to do what he really had planned, but the magnificent creatures of the zoo would offer him the needed protection until then.

It took some time, but with little difficulty, Bearthian released and controlled every animal in the zoo, big and small, and marched them out of the prison toward his secret grove. Nothing could stop him now.


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter 52**

The night was interrupted for the two sleeping brothers as the door to their motel room opened and in stepped a foreign man in a tattered suit. Dean perked up, ready for a fight when he realized that it was the strange man from the forest. He lowered his guard, but only slightly. The man was clearly a British Man of Letters, but he did help save Sam. So he didn't appear to be an immediate enemy.

"Relax." The man said. "My name's Joel." He introduced himself to the tiger on the bed, feeling a little silly talking to an animal. "Your brother called me. I work with the Men of Letters."

Dean knew all that already, but it was helpful to know his name. The conversation stirred Sam awake. With a deep groan, the younger Winchester weakly sat up. Dean was pleased to see that the sleep and Joel-prescribed treatments had seemed to work. While Sam certainly didn't look good, he did look alive and like he'd recover. "Are you okay?" Sam mumbled through tired lips.

"I'm fine." Joel smiled. "Just glad you're alive. I came as quickly as I could."

"Sorry we had to leave you."

"Not a problem." Joel brushed it off. "I did bring your car."

"I had the keys." Sam said confused. The conversation was starting to make Dean feel sick. He knew what had been done to his baby.

"I had to hot-wire it." Joel explained sheepishly. "I hope you don't mind."

Sam jumped in before Dean could react. "It's fine. We'll fix it up."

"Anyway." Joel moved on to more pressing matters. "I just passed by the zoo and saw cops all over the place." He closed the door and settled into the room. "I talked to a cop and he said that _all_ the animals had been set free."

"Free to where?"

"They hadn't a clue." Joel answered. "I think we all know who released them."

"The druid."

"Right." Joel winked. "So I think it's safe to say the animals will find us."

"That's not very comforting." Sam said as he attempted to get out of bed. He moaned as he moved in a similar fashion to an elderly woman waking up in the morning.

"Whoa, there, Yankee." Joel rushed over to the bed. "You gotta' take it easy."

"No, we've got work to do." Sam insisted. "Let's get to it."

Without warning, Dean shoved Sam back down onto the bed and roared. "What do you mean you're going to go to the zoo alone?" Sam asked shocked. Dean growled deeply as he looked at Joel and then back to Sammy. Sam sighed heavily. "Seriously, Dean?" He complained. "This again?"

Dean's eyes went insane with anger. He roared again right in Sam's face. "I know you told me not to call the British Men of Letters." Sam explained. "But we need the help!" Dean smacked Sammy's chest with his big paw, hard enough to make his point, but not so much to hurt him. "What do you mean 'why don't I ever listen to you'?" Sam argued. "You're my big brother. I've spent my entire life listening to you!" Dean growled back at that. "I _know_ about Ruby!" Sam hollered, hating that Dean kept bringing up one of his most shameful moments. "I _know_ I didn't listen to you. And you know what?" His voice escalated. "It got you killed!" Sam shouted. "Don't you think I learned my lesson from that!?"

Dean saw the tears forming in Sam's eyes, but he wasn't about to retreat. Sam had crossed a line. The British Men of Letters were so clearly no good, yet despite his warning, Sam kept running back to them. He roared again and looked back to Joel. Sam's anger could visibly be seen on his face. "This is not the same, Dean." Sam argued. "Ruby was a demon. The British Men of Letters are Hunters." Dean rolled his eyes. "They _are_ Hunters. Maybe not in the same way as you and me, but they are. They're out to save people!"

Dean shoved down on Sam one more time. "I'm not staying here, Dean!" Sam fought back. "I'm a Hunter and I have a job to do." Dean stood tall and slid off the edge of the bed with what could only be described as a tiger mumble. "You're going alone?" Sam asked. "And you don't expect me to follow you?" Dean turned back with fierce eyes. They pierced right through Sammy. His voice grew softer. "I know I'm hurt." Sam said. "But I have work to do." Without a response, Dean was out the door on his way to the zoo.

The moment the tiger was gone, Sam shouted out as loud as he could in frustration. Why was Dean so freaking difficult to deal with?! Couldn't he see that Joel was there to help? Sam couldn't believe his stupid brother. Angrily, Sam tossed the sheets off his naked body and slammed his feet on the dirty carpet. He was going to go to that zoo too!

Before he could get any farther, Joel approached him and placed a large hand on his shoulder. "Take it easy there, Yankee." The man said. "I'm not sure what that whole argument was about and I don't really care. What I do know is that you _are_ hurt and you _do_ need rest."

"Dean thinks he can handle all this by himself?" Sam asked Joel as if he had the answer. "There's no way. We all saw how that went last time."

"I agree with that." Joel said. "A druid's no joke and has control over animals. The last thing we need trying to deal with him is another animal." Joel explained. "However, you need to go slow."

"You don't think that I'm ready for a Hunt?"

"I didn't say that." Joel smirked. "You're a Winchester. If half of what I've read about you in your files is true, then you're more than capable. I'm just saying you need to take it easy on the way. You're body just survived a poison that killed many others. Don't push too hard." Joel stared at Sammy's naked form. "Look at yourself. You're post-poisoned, clawed, bruised, scratched, beaten. You're not looking good."

"I'm fine."

"Just..." Joel said as he found Sam some clothes from his bag on the floor. "Take it easy."


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53**

Dean rushed to the zoo. The last thing he wanted was to brag about going it alone just to end up there too late. Even so, he knew he also needed to proceed with caution. The police were already on the scene. The last thing he needed was to be captured or shot by the police.

When he arrived, the police were still around, but the druid and animals were long gone. Fortunately, Dean wasn't human anymore. He didn't have to look around for clues as to where they could have gone. The evidence was in the air. He could smell it.

Good or bad, one thing was for sure: zoo animals left behind a stench. In this case, it worked in Dean's favor as he could easily follow his honed nose to the druid's location. Without catching the eye of any cops, Dean followed the invisible trail left behind by the druid's new posse of zoo critters. Not surprisingly, the trail led into the woods.

Though he hadn't lived as a tiger that long, Dean was getting used to his new body. He could tell just by the smell that the trail was quite fresh. If he ran, he figured he'd catch them within the hour. Without holding back, the tiger bolted off into the night. He was eager to put this nightmare behind him.

The rain had let up, but the ground was still muddy. Dean didn't even want to look at himself. He had to be a disgusting mess. After all, poor Sammy looked like the monster from the molasses swamp when he'd gotten him back to the motel room. Each step he took was identifiable by the sloshy, muddy, splash of his paw smacking the mud. He knew when he got closer he'd have to slow it down and turn on stealth mode.

The forest was surprisingly quiet for having an entire zoo's worth of exotic animals marching through it. The druid was clearly in control and being careful. Dean wasn't quite sure how he was going to handle the entire zoo, but what worried him more was an obvious question. What was the druid planning on doing with an entire zoo? After all, he'd caused quite a bit of damage with some sheep, a moose, three dryads, some coyotes, and cattle. Dean didn't want to imagine what he could do with elephants and rhinoceroses.

As he expected, Dean caught up with the crowd of beasts in about an hour. This close, the stench was rather overwhelming. He had to assume that just as he could easily smell them, the animals from the zoo could smell him, yet not one of them turned to him.

Despite that, Dean knew his presence was no secret. He could sense it. Sure enough, as the parade of beasts continued their march to who-knows-where, two figures emerged from the mess of animals. One dryad. One druid.

Anyone could see just what a threat this dryad was. The two ladies had done plenty of damage to the citizens of Singleshot, but this one was on a whole different level. He was at least twice as large of them, a real big stag of a dryad, and he was armed with a massive set of antlers and sharp-as-a-razor dual swords. The druid looked as he always did, though a little sluggish. Dean figured it was because the druid had been so busy over the last couple of days. But if there was one thing the Winchesters had learned, it was that one should never underestimate someone or something just because they're beaten or down.

Dean emerged from behind the tree he was hiding behind and faced the two enemies. Both approached him with stoic features, but Dean approached with revealed fangs and ready claws. He made himself look as large and threatening as he could. He growled and roared. Neither opponent seemed afraid in the slightest.

"I thought you were dead." Bearthian said. "Do you remember me?" He took a few more casual steps toward the tiger. "I gave you a task." His face grew harsher. "And you failed." Dean stood his ground and growled lowly. "I am not afraid of you. I am a druid. Nature is my life. You are no threat to me."

Dean prepared himself for a fight. His cat senses were going crazy in alarm. Despite his opponents' still figures, he knew something was about to come his way. The druid stepped back. "No matter." He began to turn around. "I tried killing you once and clearly underestimated you. Shame on me, really." He began to walk back to catch up with the zoo herd. "This time you won't win."

No later than when the last word had escaped Bearthian's wicked lips did the large male dryad make his move. With the twin swords he wielded, he swung wildly, but skillfully at Dean. Luckily, the combination of feline instinct and rigid Hunter training enabled the Winchester to maneuver around the relentless assault.

The dryad's swords both swooped down like a sharp jump-rope, ready to take off all four of Dean's paws, but he jumped over it, just barely escaping the maiming blow. In response, Dean took the chance to attack. He pounced forward, throwing all his weight into the big monster, causing it to stumble. He bit into the beast's muscular arm and shook it about, trying desperately to do some real damage.

The dryad took his free arm and swung his sword, slicing Dean's back. The tiger yelped and let go, scampering back to avoid a follow-up attack. As Dean remained trapped in a supernatural boxing match with the massive dryad, he couldn't help but wonder if the answer was in Bearthian. His hope for turning back to being human rested in the death of Bearthian. Would killing the druid also undo his creations and the control he had on the animals?

It was a hope he was willing to take a chance on. He faked the dryad out like a professional basketball player and weaved over toward Bearthian who was falling back into the crowd of animals. He leapt high into the air, his paws and maw ready to destroy the druid, but he never got the chance. Before he made contact, the firm and rugged feel of the dryad's antlers rammed into Dean's side.

The tiger literally flew through the air helplessly and landed crudely on the muddied earth. He looked up to see the dryad already rushing him again. He forced himself onto his feet and managed to avoid the charge, but the dryad wasn't going to give up. Dean dared a glance toward Bearthian who was now on his way out of view into the deep forest. Dean had no idea where he was heading, but wherever it was, he knew he needed to get there.

Unfortunately for him, there wasn't any time for him to worry about that. The dryad demanded his full attention. Dean felt the heat of a blade slice against his back leg. He cried out again, but didn't give up. He turned to face the dryad, beast against beast.


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54**

Sam and Joel arrived at the edge of the woods where they had tracked the animal footprints to. They were both unsurprised to find Lucy and Curtis there. They got out of the Impala to address the two. Lucy spoke first. "What are you two doing? Trying out for some action movie?" They both looked at her confused.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"Your clothes." She mentioned. "The bandages." Sam got it. Neither Joel or Sam were dressed in a manner that was typical for people in public. Due to all the damage Joel had taken, his clothes were unwearable after their run in with the bears in the forest. So, he took a pair of Sam's jeans, the only thing that fit, and even they were relatively tight on his massive frame, and Dean's boots. Sam was dressed in similar fashion. He wore just his athletic shorts that he wore to bed and his running shoes. Neither wore shirts. After all, none of Sam's or Dean's fit Joel due to his hulking physique, and Sam's wounds just kept reopening and ruining the few shirts he still had left. He figured for an adventure in the muddy woods, he'd forego it and save the ones he had for his time in populated places.

"Sorry." Sam started. "We didn't expect to find anyone in the woods and most of our clothes are ruined."

"Ruined?" She asked. "How?"

"It's a long story and we don't really have time." Sam explained. "Suffice it to say that we're on a Hunt. We've got a monster to catch."

After what she'd experienced in the animal control facility, she didn't seem to struggle to believe him. "And where's your brother?" She asked. "The tiger?"

"He's who we're here for." Sam answered. "He ran off to take care of the monster himself. He's only going to get himself hurt."

"And the bandages?" Curtis jumped in. "Those from the tiger?"

Sam hesitated to answer, but figured the answer was obvious. "Yes. From the fight in your office."

"Figured." Curtis nodded. "Thank you." He said quietly. It caused Lucy to physically turn and look at him. It was obvious he wasn't the kind of man to show gratitude often. "You saved my life. And it came with a cost." He said as he gestured toward Sam's beaten and injured body.

"That's my job." Sam smiled. "And he's my brother. I gotta' save him."

"And you're here following him because he's following the monster?" Lucy asked. "And let me guess, the reason all the zoo animals are out in these woods…?"

"The monster." Sam answered. "A druid."

"Right." She said, accepting it, but clearly not diving fully into the idea of monsters. Sam couldn't blame her. It's totally opposite of what everyone is taught their whole lives. He was just glad she was remaining open to the idea. "And now that you're here…" She started. "What can we do?"

"We do our job." Curtis said plainly.

"Curtis." She scolded, something that was not in her nature. "We should listen to them."

"I don't believe in monsters and hocus pocus, Lucy. We have a job."

"Curtis, please." She said in a more pleading tone. "I always follow you. Please follow me this time." She asked with a sincerity that worked its way into Curtis. "I believe him. Let's follow their lead on this one. Even you have to admit that this is all very strange."

After some very clear inner struggling, Curtis let out of deep huff. "Fine." He spat. "But the second things seem to be falling apart since these guys are _not_ trained animal officers, we're going in."

"Deal." Sam said before Lucy could talk more. "Please just wait here and be ready. If this druid has taught us anything about himself, it's that he's out to get humans. Be ready to act if he leads more animals into Singleshot. We're going after my brother."

With that Sam and Joel made their way into the woods. Neither of them were in good condition, but they had to press on. That's what Hunters did. They kept going no matter what. That's something Sam could thank Dean for teaching him. When the going gets rough, keep on keeping on.

Sam sighed in frustration as they marched through the woods. "We could be hunting the druid right now." He complained to Joel. "But Noooo…" He held the word out for emphasis. "Dean has to run off and try to play hero or whatever."

"I'm sorry that I've caused so much trouble between you and your brother." Joel apologized, not sure what else to say to console Sam since he barely knew him.

"You didn't do anything. Dean's just being an asshole." Sam whined. "It's always gotta' be his way or there's trouble." They marched through the woods as Sam continued to complain totally unconcerned about making too much noise. "He's like a giant child. If he doesn't get what he wants he goes off to pout."

"At least you have a brother." Joel said softly. "Someone to rely on. Someone who cares about you." His words shut Sam up. "I work with people. I Hunt just like you do. But when I Hunt, the person I work with doesn't care about me. He doesn't love me. I'm just another tool to be used on a Hunt, just as he is to me." Joel explained. "I wish I had a brother that cared for me like yours cares for you. You should have seen all he did to save you from the dryad."

"I guess." Sam let the words slip out, not wanting to let himself feel bad for being so harsh toward Dean. "He's just so annoying sometimes."

"From what I've gathered in my life, brothers are supposed to be annoying. Aren't they?" Joel dared a light laugh. To his relief, Sam cracked a smile.

"I guess so." Sam caved in. "I just hope he's okay. He tends to think he's invincible. Like he'll only die when he allows it."

"Then we better move quickly." Joel said, speeding the team up a bit.

The two Hunters had no problem following the animal tracks into the deeper woods. It was nearly impossible to pick out any tracks that could have belonged to Dean, but they were both confident that Dean was wherever the tracks led.

After a tiring and muddy hike through the woods, the two Hunters stopped. They were both dripping sweat. It was so hot and humid out. The moisture in the air combined with his considerable sweating had caused Sam's bandages to fall loose again. Not that it mattered. In his line of work he was either not going to get in a fight and the wounds would be fine either way, or he'd get in a fight and they'd reopen despite the bandages. "My bandages came off again." He complained, but Joel shushed him immediately.

Joel had his index finger in front of his pursed lips as he looked as Sam. "Be quiet." He ordered. "Listen."

Sam grew quiet and listened for whatever had caught Joel's ear. He heard it. The sound of two creatures fighting. The audible sound of a distant roar led them both to assume they were hearing Dean. "We gotta' hurry!" Sam panicked. The tiger's roars were not confident and intimidating as they normally. Intentionally or not, they sounded more like pathetic last-ditch efforts to try to call for help. Fortunately for Dean, help was on the way!

Running in with Joel behind him, Sam considered the situation. He could see Dean was tired and injured. He had bloody slashes across his back and legs and anyone could see that he had taken a beating. Sam considered Joel. He had bruises covering much of his body as well as scratches. However, the most glaring injury was the home-treated broken arm he was working with. Sam knew his own condition. He was still recovering from poison. On top of that, he was suffering from talon wounds on his head and face as well as deep tiger slashes and a number of bruises and aches. They were not in good condition.

Looking at the opponent, a very large male dryad who must have rivaled Dean in weight, stood before Dean with dual swords swinging wildly in attempts to cut down the tiger. Sam was a little relieved to see that the dryad was not unscathed. Dean had clearly gotten in some good hits. The dryad had bite marks all over his arm and a number of scratches around his body. Despite that, anyone could tell that the dryad was winning. Dean was clearly on his last leg, barely able to avoid the swoops of the blades as they came at him.

Deciding, despite their rugged condition, that it was time to act, Sam ran in. "Dean!" He hollered, catching Dean's attention and alerting him to what was about to happen. Without another word, Dean dove away from the dryad as Sam unloaded his shotgun at the large monster. He shot a total of six shells at the beast and every single one hit, but this beast was no small threat. The dryad took each hit with a clear expression of pain, but it didn't seem to leave a lasting wound on the beast. While Sam could easily see where the shells hit and could tell they had done some damage, the dryad continued on as if they were just minors pains.

Joel followed suit, unloading the pistol he had on the monster and noticing that the monster was starting to show a hint of fear. The more bullets that made their way into the monster's flesh, the more hesitant the thing seemed in staying for a fight. Even so, the Hunters didn't have an unlimited number of bullets, so instead of staying to fight, Joel decided to make a call. "Get Dean!" He hollered. "I'll keep him occupied!"

Sam didn't need to be told twice. He ran over to the wounded cat and ushered him out of the fight as quickly and cautiously as he could. The dryad tried to take a few swings at them, but decided against it in favor of guarding his face from the other Hunter's suppressing fire.

As Sam and Dean retreated, they heard the telling _click_ of a gun running out of bullets. "Run!" Joel shouted as he took off to catch up with them. The dryad chased them in hot pursuit. They moved as quickly as they could, but with their severe wounds, especially Dean's slashed leg, they couldn't get going that fast.

Sam could see it in Dean's eyes. He was suffering. "Come on, Dean. I know this sucks, but we gotta' move." He encouraged his tiger-brother. Dean gestured with his head for Sam to go on ahead. Sam continued to press Dean forward as quickly as he could. "Not a chance. I'm not leaving you." Dean gestured again, this time more insistently. Sam refused again. "No way. Remember the Croatoan?" Sam asked. "When I got infected you never left me. You stayed in the room with me ready to die with me." Sam recalled. "I'm not leaving you." He insisted. "I'm furious with you, but you're not going to die today. I need to yell at you."

The three of them sprinted as best their damaged bodies could carry them, the whole being chased by an enormous dryad swinging swords at their heels. Throwing the occasional rocks and flinging a few tree branches as they retreated, the dryad was slowed just enough as to not be able to land any real hits on them.

They could see the edge of the woods and could hear the heavy pounding of hooves behind them. As they ran toward the clearing, Sam could make out the vehicle of Lucy still parked. The animal control officers hadn't left! As they ran into the open, Sam shouted. "Open fire!"

"What?!" Lucy shouted as she and Curtis turned concernedly toward where the two Hunters and tiger had emerged from the woods.

"Kill it!" Sam shouted. This time the dryad was visible. They didn't need to be told again. Curtis and Lucy both unloaded their rifles on the massive dryad. Sam, Joel, and Dean all covered their ears as the bullets flew. The dryad wasn't killed, but they managed to force it to retreat back into the woods.

"What the hell was that?" Curtis practically screamed.

"That…" Sam said as he tried to catch his breath. "Is a monster."

Curtis shook his head back and forth as he tried to let it sink in. Monsters were real. He finally let the word hiss out of his mouth. "Shit."

"Yup." Sam affirmed. "That particular one is called a dryad." He explained. "It's the first I've ever encountered, so I can't tell you much about it."

"But it's dangerous?" Lucy asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Very." Joel said sternly.

"You saved us." Sam said gratefully. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Lucy said absently as she continued to stare into the woods where the dryad was.

"Just paying you back." Curtis said plainly. "And how's the tiger?" He looked at Dean. "Behaving?"

"Yes." Sam explained. "He's back to himself. Or at least, the tiger self."

"Good." Curtis said, still clearly nervous that the tiger would attack.

"Okay. We need to scatter." Joel announced. "All that gunfire was sure to catch someone's attention. We don't want to be here when someone comes to investigate."

"Right." Sam agreed. He aided Dean in getting into the Impala. "Sorry Dean. We're gonna' have to do some major interior work on this car after we're done. All this mud and blood is not gonna' come out easily." Sam could tell Dean was hurt because he didn't even give a reaction to that. He just flopped into the backseat and closed his eyes. "We'll get you all fixed up soon."

Together, the three pulled out of the wood's edge and back onto the main road. They were in need of some serious rest and recovery. Unfortunately, they didn't have that luxury. The best Sam could figure to offer the group was one night. By tomorrow, they needed to be back in the woods to track down that druid.


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55**

Bearthian rested in his quiet grove away from the detestable constructions of the humans. He needed as much power as he could recover in a short time so that he could make the humans pay once and for all. He knew Singleshot was only a small portion of the human problem, but it was a start.

As he rested, his last remaining dryad arrived at the grove bearing bad news. The druid sensed from the dryad's mind that he had failed in eliminating any of them. That definitely made things more difficult for Bearthian, but he also could read from the dryad's mind how injured the Hunter crew was. That was good.

Tomorrow he would go to Singleshot and rally up all the animals in captivity. It would be glorious. He would turn all the dogs and cats of the human homes against their 'owners' and lead them into his army for the final assault. After that, the Hunters couldn't do anything even if they wanted to.

For now, the druid rested and urged the dryad to do the same. They would have a busy day tomorrow and the following would be even more so.


	56. Chapter 56

**Chapter 56**

The moment the motel room door closed Sam exploded. "How could you, Dean?" He shouted. "You almost got yourself killed!" The tiger slinked back away from the angry little brother. "You almost got Joel and me killed trying to save you!"

Joel stepped outside to keep watch, but mostly just to get out of the warzone. He had had enough fighting for one day. Plus, he knew he was kind of the source of the fight. It would be better for him to be out of sight.

"You're unbelievable." Sam hissed. "You get on me about making bad choices, but this really takes the cake!" Sam's voice only grew louder. "I almost died because of you." Sam started. "Joel's arm is broken." He gestured out the window. "And on top of all that, we had to chase you down because you ran off thinking you could save the world by yourself!"

Dean didn't respond. He knew that Sam was right in many ways, but that didn't change the fact that he had called the Men of Letters without his approval. Sam knew what Dean was thinking about. "Joel is helping." Sam said firmly. "I know you didn't want the Men of Letters involved, but they are. We made a deal, remember?" Sam held up his pinky. "We would call the Men of Letters if we needed help. Well, we tried it your way. We held off on calling them and dozens of people are dead because of it." Sam explained in a fierce tone. "Was it worth it, Dean?" The question hit Dean like a sucker-punch to the gut. His job was to save people and he couldn't deny the truth in Sam's argument. Had they called in the Men of Letters there very well could have been less casualties. But how was he supposed to know that the British Men of Letters would send an honest man after what he had seen with the children?

Sam closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to suppress his burning anger. "Dean." He said more calmly, but the hint of anger still remained. "That was a stupid move." He recalled all that Joel had said to him in the forest. He knew the British Man of Letters was right. He was lucky to have Dean. Time and time again, Dean had saved him. He had guided him. Protected him. Loved him. "I'm angry at you." Sam said plainly, but much more calmly. "But I love you." He said as his voice continued to grow more calm and more kind. "And I'm glad you're alive."

Dean eased up from his up-tight position in the corner of the room. He looked like a mess of blood and bruises. His fur was coated in mud and his body showed every sign of exhaustion. "I know you hate the British Men of Letters, but Joel is here. He's not let me down yet. I'm not saying we need to trust them, but he's helping. So let's just do this Hunt and we'll work through this later." Sam talked calmly, but began choking up a bit. "And if you're still angry you can yell at me after we turn you back into a human." He paused to try to collect himself. "And if you want to leave then. If you want to hunt alone, then you can go. Even though I don't want you to leave, I won't try to stop you."

Dean rubbed up against his brother's leg. Sam smiled and bent down and petted Dean gently, trying not to put any unneeded pressure on his cuts. "We'll get through this." Sam assured Dean. "We always do."

Sam let Joel know that it was safe to go back in as he fetched the first aid kit from the Impala. He brought it back in to Dean and began to play vet again. "We're going to need to restock this." He chuckled to the tiger. "This has been a costly hunt." He laughed some more. "Most of my clothes are ruined. Some of yours too. The Impala needs a lot of work. We've spent a good deal of ammo. Plus, now, our med supplies are dwindling."

Dean remained unconcerned about their supplies. He was just glad for their lives. There had been plenty of opportunities for them to die, but they hadn't yet. He held in a whimper as Sam began cleaning and stitching his sword slashes closed. It was almost more painful than the sword itself, but he knew it was necessary.

After several quiet minutes of Sammy mending Dean's wounds, the younger Winchester stood up. "That's about as good as I can get it." He explained. "Sorry, Dean. I'm no vet." He stood up and headed to the bathroom. "Want a bath?"

He filled the tub with nice hot water. Once it was ready, Dean eagerly hopped in. He was sick of being a disgusting, smelly mess. Sam spent the good portion of an hour lathering up Dean's coat and rinsing it off as gently as he could so he didn't mess up the stitches or cause Dean any more pain than was unavoidable. It took three tubs of refilled water, but Dean was finally clean. After a good brushing down, Dean made his way out of the bathroom and onto Sam's bed in the main room. It was only 7:12 in the evening, but he was completely depleted of all energy. He zonked out immediately.

Sam took the opportunity to have Joel give him a look over and he did the same for the British man. Once they had cleaned up their own wounds and bandaged them, Sam hopped in the shower. Like Dean, he was a smelly, dirty mess. The soothing feel of hot water and soap was more than welcomed.

Once clean, he came out and let Joel take his turn in the bathroom. Sammy climbed into bed with Dean who was stretched out across the entire head of the bed. Sam rested his head on Dean's exposed belly and felt the softness and warmth of his fur lull him into a sleep. Together, the Winchesters slept for a surprisingly uninterrupted night. Something that they both needed desperately.


	57. Chapter 57

**Chapter 57**

All three Hunters were awakened bright and early by an urgent pounding on the door. Dean got up in a defensive disposition, just in case. While it was unlikely that a real threat would bother knocking on the door, they couldn't afford to be sloppy. Sam marched over to the door in his ratty athletic shorts as he wiped the much-needed sleep from his heavy eyes. "Who do you think it is?" Joel asked from the far bed.

Sam didn't offer an answer, but instead, with his guardian tiger right near him, cracked the door open just before the guest could pound another concerned fist against it. "Curtis?" Sam mumbled as he tried to force a yawn back down. By the look of Curtis' face, now was not the time to be acting sleepy.

"You gotta' come quick!" Curtis urged him. Sam immediately woke up and was ready. He didn't really know Curtis well, but he got the impression that he wasn't a man to startle or panic easily. Something must have been very wrong.

"What's up?" Sam asked as Joel made his way over to the door. Sam opened it further to open the conversation up to all the men present.

"It's the animals!" The words practically raced out of his bumbling mouth. Sam was surprised that the syllables came out as clearly as they did. "They're gathering for something." He explained. Sweat was dripping down from his forehead. "And Lucy said their eyes weren't normal. She's always been the observant type. She can tell when an animal is sad or scared just from looking at the eyes. She said these eyes were something else."

"Red?" Sam asked.

"Oh, yes." Curtis nodded rapidly. "And fierce as she's ever seen, she said." He nodded toward Dean. "Kinda' like him at the office."

"If the eyes are red, that can only mean one thing." Sam started.

"The druid." Joel finished the thought. All the other men looked at him in silent agreement. Joel stepped closer to the open door. "How many animals are we talking?" He said, he British accent remaining cool and collected.

"It's hard to say." The animal control officer answered. "It's almost like every animal in the forest is there."

"Where?" Sam asked.

"At the edge of the woods, right outside of town." Curtis explained. "I think something bad's going to happen." He went on. "I've never believed in magic or monsters, or any of that fantasy stuff…" He took a deep breath. "But this is changing me. This can't be a natural things. Deer and wolves don't' line up and stand together like this."

"Let's get real." Joel insisted. "Animals don't form co-species mobs. The druid is at work. And if he's at work, something bad is definitely about to happen."

"We gotta' go." Sam said as he grabbed the keys to the Impala and slipped his running shoes on.

"Okay. Get dressed and I'll take you there." Curtis said.

Joel and Sam were already out the door, both now clad in only athletic shorts. "Sorry, dude. All our clothes are ruined."

"Then hurry!" Curtis said as he hopped in his car and drove off, the Impala right behind.


	58. Chapter 58

**Chapter 58**

Bearthian was all-too-pleased with himself. "Bearthian, why didn't you just do this from the beginning?" He asked himself as he beheld the massive army of hundreds of various animals before him. At first, he had thought that just kidnapping and transforming people into animals would be vengeance enough, but after seeing what just one human city could do to an animal population, he'd learned that so much more was needed. Now he was content with nothing less than an entire massacre of the human population around his grove. And he was even considering spreading out farther than that, but that was a plan for another day.

With his large dryad standing by his side, the druid eagerly awaited the final ranks of animals to heed his mystical call and join the ranks of nature ready to enact judgment on the humans. The plan wasn't complicated. The most wise owls to the simplest of sheep could understand it. Kill all humans. Destroy their structures. Free the brethren. There were no rules or tricks to it. Bearthian was no fool. He knew that waging war on the humans meant that many animals would die. But that was a sacrifice he and nature were willing to make. Nature would repopulate. The humans would be gone forever. Because once Bearthian drove them out, he was not going to let them back in.

There was only one thing that made him just a tiny bit nervous: the Hunters. However, given the size of his animal army and the dryad warrior beside him, even they seemed like nothing more than paper tigers.


	59. Chapter 59

**Chapter 59**

The two cars didn't make it to the edge of the woods before all hell broke loose in downtown Singleshot. Sam slammed on the brakes as he watched a buck ram hard into Curtis' car in front of them. It was happening. Bearthian had his army and it was descending on the unprepared town.

Sam jumped out of the car with Dean in tow. He looked down main street. It was like a flood was raging his way, only there was no water, only wild animals with an unnatural lust for murder. "Run!" He shouted. Dean followed his younger brother as he fled from the center of the incoming rampage, Joel right alongside them. Curtis and Lucy both evacuated their cars and made for safer ground off of the street.

It was like watching _Jumanji_. Animals rammed into every car in the street. Road signs were being toppled and street-side shops were being trashed. The animals were being intentionally destructive. Sam only wondered how long until the bodies began piling up.

Cars swerved off the road as they saw the stampeding animals. People clambered out of their vehicles and ran for their lives. However, it was at that point the real attack began. The various critters of the forest began breaking off in pursuit of anyone trying to escape.

"We gotta' get these people out of here." Sam told his fellow Hunters. "We need to warn the town that this is happening."

"The tornado siren." Joel suggested. "American cities generally have one." He explained. "Someone could activate it."

They both looked across the street. In unison they spoke. "Curtis."

"You tell Curtis the plan." Sam instructed. "Dean and I will worry about saving as many people as we can." With those words, Sam and Dean darted off toward the nearest human in distress. Joel dodged and jumped across the street as best as his injured body could take him.

Sam noticed two wolves in pursuit of a young man. The guy ran into a street-side bookstore, but that wasn't as safe as he had thought it would be. Throwing their own well-being to the wind, the wolves forced their bodies through the large display window and terrorized the entire store. "I've got it." Sam said. "You save someone else." Dean didn't hesitate. He took off in search of another human in need. He only hoped they'd recognize that he was there to save them and not hunt them.

With his shotgun in his hands, Sam confidently approached the pair of wolves. They were not truly the ones at fault, but he couldn't allow them to kill innocent humans. They had to be put down. One wolf pounced on the elderly woman cowering behind the cash register, but before he could sink his teeth into anything more than her blouse, the cry of a shotgun going off hailed the immediate death of the beast.

Having heard the shot and seen the result, the other wolf changed his tactics. Rather than hunting the young man he was initially after, he decided to go for the man with the gun. The canine took a complete turn-around and threw himself at the Hunter, his maw open and thirsty for blood.

Before the hunter could take aim, the wolf was on him. It bit down on Sam's arm and threw its head about in an attempt to tear as much flesh as it could. Sam regretted not having a shirt or coat on to separate his flesh from the wolf's mouth. Giving the wolf as little time as possible to inflict damage, Sam walloped it in the head with the butt of the shotgun. The wolf stumbled back before recomposing itself and showing its now blood-stained teeth before leaping again. This time, though, Sam was ready. With the blast of his shotgun, the wolf went down.

The bookstore refugees thanked Sam profusely before trying to look out the window to see what on earth was going on out there. Sam spoke to them all. "Stay here and stay hidden. Your best bet for safety is to not draw the animals' attention." No one argued him, so he left confident that they'd follow his orders. He was off to save more lives.

Dean raced down the street as the stampede continued down Main Street. Slowly, street by street, the animals were spreading out to do as much destruction and killing as they could. He couldn't believe his eyes. It wasn't just the zoo animals. It wasn't just the big bears or moose. It was every critter from the forest. Even the rabbits and rodents were in on this bloody crusade.

Hearing the scream of what could only be a mother and children, Dean swerved off the main street and onto a perpendicular off-street. Standing on top of their van was a mother with a son clinging to her leg and a small daughter clutched in her arms. She kicked at the big black bear that groped and swiped at the family from the asphalt ground.

She cried for help as she fended the bear off. Her shoe was missing and her foot was bloody and mangled from the bear's claws, but even so, she kept fighting with it to protect her defenseless children. Dean admired the woman as he rushed to her rescue.

The mother saw the tiger racing to her and panic swelled in her eyes. Dean could tell that she thought he was the end of her and her kids. To her great surprise, the tiger didn't jump up on the van, but rather body-slammed the massive bear. While she didn't claim to know much about wildlife, she was surprised that the tiger was actually larger than the bear!

Dean wrestled with the bear on the hard floor, swiping at it with his claws and receiving similar attacks from it. His body was already cut and bruised, but he couldn't let that stop him. He tried to sink his fangs into the bear's neck, but the bear shoved him off and stood up quickly, trying to take the upper-hand in the battle.

Despite his wounds and aches, Dean was not slow to react. He knew if he let the bear get on top of him, he was likely a goner. Bears were no joke. As the bear came down on him with its massive tonnage, Dean slipped to the side and attached himself to the creature's side using his strong claws and sharp teeth. The bear spun around and around, desperately trying to reach Dean, but he was out of the bear's flexible reach. Seizing the opportunity, Dean bit down hard on the bear's neck and eased it into death.

Once the assailant was dispatched, Dean turned his attention to the woman. She screamed as soon as his eyes met her. He tried not to take it personally. He knew how he looked. He wasn't dumb. Even so, there was a little pain in just how ungrateful she was. He turned to leave and the panicked screaming stopped and was replaced by a confused stare. Dean didn't have time to explain himself to her, especially since he hadn't the gift of the English language at the moment. He had more pressing matters to attend to: the rescue of Singleshot from Bearthian.

Sam watched as Joel battled a group of deer across the street with his broken arm and a handgun. He had to admit. The man was formidable. He was glad they were on the same team. However, he knew he didn't have time to stand around and gawk. People were in trouble. He scanned the surroundings and noticed that Curtis was gone. Joel had apparently succeeded in giving the man his mission. Hopefully he could complete it sooner rather than later. The more the humans were aware and grouped up, the safer they would be. Some of the animals were very dangerous, but most of them were more into picking off lone people, not large groups.

He noticed that even Lucy was out in the brawl. She had two men behind her as she opened fire on some coyotes and badgers. Sam couldn't believe how messed up this all was. The druid was desperate to get rid of the humans.

Sam charged toward a group of men and women that were cornered against the stone wall of the courthouse. A group of bobcats and badgers were harassing them. The men were using tree branches and their own feet to hold the critters at bay. While the beasts certainly weren't as threatening as something like a bear or a moose, they were quick and elusive, but above all, persistent. They could kill if given the chance.

Opening fire, Sam quickly killed a number of them, but one bobcat surprised Sam by turning on him suddenly and landing itself on his shoulder. It used its sharp claws to rip at the side of his throat, no doubt going for the jugular, but Sam got lucky. The cat didn't penetrate deeply enough, so with a wild jerk of his neck and shoulder, the cat was tossed to the ground. The moment the creature hit the floor, Sam's shotgun was aimed and shot.

The rest of the morning went like this. Going from one person in need to another. Fortunately, Curtis did complete his mission. As Sam was busy in a death-match against a moose, Dean was wrestling with a buck, Joel was battling a group of fox, and Lucy was trying to shoot an eagle out of the sky, the wonderful sound of the tornado siren called out across the town. In an attempt to help the populace understand the situation, Curtis got on the local radio station and announced the dangerous happenings that were unfolding. He hoped that people turned on their radios when the siren alarm went off or it would be much less effective.

Sam ran over to Dean as the tiger finished off another badger in the street. "There's no end to this!" Sam shouted over the sounds of a stampede charging through town. "If we don't find a better solution, hundreds of people are going to die, not to mention we'll have to kill the entire population of the local wildlife."

Dean looked at Sam with a questioning bend of his cat eyebrows. "I don't have another plan, but we need to come up with one." Sam answered. Joel noticed the brothers talking and ran over the first chance he could.

"What's with all the chatter?" He asked.

"We need another plan." Sam explained.

Dean pointed toward the woods where they had encountered Bearthian. "You think we should go after the druid?" Sam asked. Dean nodded. "I thought about that too. My concern is that if we leave the town unguarded and killing the druid doesn't work, they're all dead."

"I'll stay." Joel answered. "You two can handle the druid." He looked out to the _Jumanji_ scene that was Singleshot. "I can handle this alone."

"Not alone." Came the petite voice of Lucy as she approached the group. "I know nothing about monsters, but I know this isn't natural. You guys need to go do what you do. We'll handle this as best we can."

Looking at the situation again and deciding that the druid was their only hope to ending it, Sam nodded. "Okay. You good with this Dean?" Dean roared loudly in agreement. "Okay. Let's find us a druid.


	60. Chapter 60

**Chapter 60**

Bearthian watched with his perceptive eyes from the edge of the woods as the animals laid siege to the human town. He had spent a lot of his energy orchestrating this attack, so he figured it was safest to hang back just in case something happened. He'd rather have some energy left if something went wrong. Besides, there was no way the humans could overcome the massive amount of animals assaulting the town, and the best part was, that there were still plenty more animals in the woods if needed.

With his dryad guardian beside him, he allowed an all-too-pleased grin to cross his purple lips. He was so eager to be done with the humans and be free to allow nature to thrive.

Dean trotted more slowly than he would have if he wasn't waiting on Sam. Despite his little brother's fit physique and incredibly long legs, he still was no match for a giant tiger in a race. Eager to get to the Hunt, Dean urged Sam onto his back. Without a word spoken, Sam mounted Dean like John Wayne in some spaghetti western and they were off toward the edge of the woods near where they had spotted Bearthian the other day. It was the most accessible connection between the forest and the city.

At Dean's speed, the trip was short, and just as they hoped, Bearthian was there. He stood proudly as he watched the Hunters approach. As dangerous as Hunters were, they were no match for the menacing dryad standing guard beside him. He had nothing to worry about. Sure, they had defeated the lady dryads, but the behemoth next to him was on a whole different level of dangerous.

The tiger roared deeply, a guttural roar that shook Sam to his very core, yet the druid seemed not to care. Sam eased himself off of Dean and quickly had his weapon ready. Dressed in only his ratty and torn athletic shorts and armed with only a shotgun and the knife he always kept inside the side of his shoe, Sam charged alongside his feline brother toward the threat that was orchestrating the attacks on the innocent city of Singleshot.

Meeting them for the fight, the dryad bolted forward, his swords gleaming against the afternoon sun. Sam and Dean were tired from hours of managing the wild animals in the town, but they couldn't stop yet. They were both injured and in need of some serious recuperation, but that would have to come later. They needed to save the city, and on top of that, hopefully return everyone that had been changed into animals back into people, Dean especially.

The fight began with a heavy clash. Dean's mass collided straight into the large form of the dryad. Both stumbled back, giving Sam an opportunity to get a clean shot off with his shotgun. He knew his ammunition was limited, so he had to take care in his aiming, plus, Dean was lashing out wildly against the monster. The last thing Sam wanted to do was accidentally shoot his brother.

The shot hit its mark and the dryad grunted out in pain. The beast had already proven to the brothers that it was no joke. The female dryads were child's play in comparison and they had managed to slay many people. Blood rushing from the bullet wound, the dryad reengaged the two assailants.

The monster charged Dean, likely gauging the unnaturally large tiger to be the bigger threat, and swiped at him with his blades. The tiger expertly dodged and weaved around, not letting the blades make contact, but he knew it couldn't last. All it would take was one slip-up and he could be dead. Fortunately, Sam took the opportunity again to shoot the monster. The beast cried out again and turned to Sam. Maybe it had misjudged.

Lowering his massive antlers, the monster rampaged toward Sam. The younger Winchester tried to run, but the dryad was too fast. The antlers rammed hard into his back, sticking into his flesh in a few spots. With Sam partly gored onto his antlers, the dryad lifted Sam off the ground and prepared to slam him hard back onto the ground. Sam grimaced in pain, but knew he couldn't give up. If he wasted even a second, the next action the dryad took was very likely going to be a fatal one.

As Sam wiggled in an attempt to free himself, pushing through the pain, Dean took action. He had to help his brother! He pounced on the dryad's torso, trying to get a hold on the beast's human neck or head. That would likely be enough to force him to stop focusing on Sam and give him a chance to free himself.

Dean lodged his claws into the dryad's muscled torso and began chomping at the monster's head, trying to latch on. The dryad recognized the threat Dean was and did just as Dean wanted him to. He allowed his attention to shift to the tiger, more concerned about keeping the tiger's maw off his neck and head than he was about inflicting pain on the man attached to his antlers.

With Dean distracting the dryad, Sam gritted his teeth as he slowly pulled his body off the sharp antlers one puncture by one. Once he had removed three segments of antlers from his bare back, Sam was able to tumble to the ground. He didn't land with the grace he wanted to, but he was alive. He picked up his shotgun and shouted to his brother. "Dean! Get down!" No sooner than the words left his mouth, Dean was on the ground and the shotgun shouted out. Another hit. The dryad was beginning to slow down. He had received too many wounds that would have been fatal to most other creatures. He had been shot now by Joel, Sam, and the animal control officers. On top of that, he had suffered at the claws and teeth of Dean. The fact that the dryad was still standing was a testament to just how powerful the monster was. What was even scarier was that it was just a summoned minion. If it was this powerful, just how strong was a druid?

Bearthian recognized the signs the dryad was giving off. While he certainly wasn't down for the count, the possibility of losing was starting to reveal itself against the druid's wishes. The dryad could still win, and would most likely, but just in case things didn't go how he figured they would, the druid took a few steps back into the woods. Perhaps it was time to retreat back to his grove. There he had more power. There he would be on his home turf. If he was going to have to deal with the Hunters, he'd do it there.

Both the Hunters noticed the druid's stealthy retreat back into the woods, but they both also knew that they couldn't chase him at the time. The dryad was weakened, but he was still their current opponent. Turning their backs on him would mean certain death. Taking note of the direction of the druid's retreat, Sam turned back and unleashed another shotgun blast into the dryad as the monster recuperated itself back into a fighting stance. Dean took a big sniff of the druid's retreating scent and committed it to memory. He'd need it later. He was sure of that.

The dryad raised its swords into a ready-stance again and charged Sam, clearly having labeled him the easier target. It was like being a pin watching the bowling ball charge down the lane. Sam saw the beast moving toward him, but felt unable to move. He gritted as he slowly lifted himself off the ground from where he had shot the dryad last, but he wasn't going quickly enough. Dean recognized this and swooped in to the rescue. Unconcerned about what pain it would cause his little brother, deeming his life more valuable than his comfort, Dean snatched his little brother up by the waistband of his athletic shorts and brought him to safety. Sure, he had received the world's most unique wedgie, but he was alive. If there lives weren't in such danger, and if he had the ability to, Dean would have laughed at the thought, but now wasn't the time.

Taking a sharp turn, the dryad headed back in their direction. Dean took note of the considerable amount of Sammy blood on the grass between where he was now sitting and where the dryad was. Sam was hurt. He was hurt badly. Even so, the younger Winchester's voice made its way to Dean's ears. "Last shell." All fell silent before another loud blast pierced the woods from the barrel of a shotgun.

This time, as Sam collapsed back on the grass, the dryad stumbled majorly and tumbled to the ground, dropping both his swords on the earthy floor. Dean wasted not a second. He pounced onto the unarmed dryad and sank his fangs deep into the monster's muscled throat. He tore as hard as he could. That was all it took. The dryad was finally dead.

Having no time to properly celebrate the victory, Dean turned back to his little brother. They were finding themselves in quite the conundrum. While Sam wasn't in any real danger of dying yet, if he moved too much with that antler-wound, it wouldn't be too long before he'd lose too much blood. The problem was that Sam had already dirtied, lent away, or ruined the rest of his clothes on the hunt. As much as Dean hated to ruin what may very well have been Sam's last in-tact clothes for the trip, his little brother's life took priority. Carefully, using his claws and teeth like surgical tools, Dean tore the bottoms of the legs of Sam's shorts. Sure, it made Sammy look like a hipster trying to join a rugby team, but with the fabric Dean could plug up the wound. It would hurt like hell, but it would enable Sammy to finish the hunt strong before they could get him some real medical help back in town.

Sam grimaced as Dean tried his best without dexterous hands with thumbs to wad the torn fabric into the wound to stop it from bleeding as much as he could. It hurt, but Sam didn't complain a bit. It was necessary. Dean couldn't fight the druid alone and Sam wasn't in a condition to do it either. They both needed to do it. Together.

Once Dean had managed to get the fabric in, Sam applied some sticky mud around it to help keep it in place. There was a very good chance it would fall out somewhere on their dangerous quest, but it would help. He got up and tossed the shotgun aside. He didn't have anywhere to keep it and it was useless without shells. "This is not going to be easy." He sighed to Dean. The large tiger walked alongside his brother to act as an aid in keeping his brother's balance. Sam leaned on him unashamedly. They sure had their fair share of fights, but this was bigger than a fight. They needed each other now.

Sam leaned over the dryad's withering-away corpse and snatched up one of the big blades before it too faded into nature. The sword was big enough that he could carry it with one hand, but would need two to accurately swing it. It was so clearly made for something bigger than Sam to use. Regardless, there really wasn't any other option. It would have to do.

Armed with claws, teeth, and a big sword, the Winchester brothers turned toward where Bearthian had retreated. "You got his scent?" Sam asked. Dean nodded as he hunched down. "You sure?" Sam asked. "It would be a big help to me, but if it's too much on you, I'll walk." Dean insisted, so Sam hopped on his tiger-brother's back and allowed the big cat to carry him to their foe's hideaway.


	61. Chapter 61

**Chapter 61**

Dean masterfully followed the trail Bearthian left behind; a trail that only an animal with a nose as attuned as a tiger could follow. Sam had given up on sitting up on Dean's back and had collapsed entirely, face-down, into the cat's muscled shoulders. Despite the fact that Sam was no lightweight, Dean had no problem bolting through the forest with the added dead-weight.

He wasn't even sure how he was doing what he was doing, but Dean followed his nose and senses like it was something he had been doing his whole life. That was, until he arrived. He carried his younger brother into a small grove in the middle of the deep forest. It was an entirely different place. It felt so much more mystical. So much more serene. Maybe even sacred. The plants were all much larger and healthier looking. A quaint spring of water rested in the middle and behind it was where Bearthian's scent went. Into what looked like a small cove in the side of a dirt elevation. It was hidden well by vines, flowers, and other such green growth hanging over it, but Dean's feline senses spotted it easily.

Unfortunately for the Hunters, the cove wasn't the only thing that he sensed. Beyond just the druid, there were several other creatures hiding in the cove. Of the critters, only two worried Dean because their scent was all-too-familiar. Tigers.

Out of the hidden entrance sauntered two large tigers. One male. One female. To Dean's relief, neither of them was nearly as large as he was. He was an unnaturally massive tiger. He was several feet longer and taller than either of them and undoubtedly weighed significantly more. The problem was going to be keeping Sammy safe. He was growing weaker with every passing second. He needed to conserve his strength for the fight against Bearthian.

Before the tigers engaged Dean, he cautiously moved back toward a large tree on the edge of the grove and carefully allowed Sam to slide off his back so he was resting against the trunk. He made sure Sam had easy access to the sword he was carrying before heading back to face the two enemy tigers.

It was obvious to Dean that the tigers were being controlled. Their eyes were red and they showed no fear as they approached the male tiger that was almost double either of them in size. That was not natural. A normal animal would have been running with its tail between its legs. As much as Dean didn't want to kill innocent creatures, these two were not going to let him in without being put down. Even if he tried to get around them and inside, that left Sammy totally alone and at the whim of two large tigers. They had to be dealt with.

Dean didn't let them make the first move. He charged them fully intending to use his size to his advantage. The two tigers responded in kind, racing toward Dean with their fangs on display. It didn't scare the Winchester. He'd faced off against Satan himself. What were a couple of tigers?

They collided like two semi-trucks speeding at each other. The collision was audible to Sam's ears and the tigers all fell hard to the ground. The tussle was intense! Dean knew he was outnumbered, so he chose to focus his attacks. He'd take care of the female first, then the male.

Dean wrestled about with the female, slashing at her with his claws and trying desperately to get his fangs around her neck. She writhed about with the skill of a cat, effectively dodging his murderous maw and fighting back with her own razor-sharp claws. The whole time, the male tiger was on Dean's back trying to get his mouth around the Hunter's neck. To Dean's relief, the size difference between him and the average tiger saved his life. The tiger's mouth was simply too small to get all around his neck. However, even though it didn't kill him, it was going to leave a mark. Dean could feel the hot pain of the fangs digging into his neck and the liquid feel of blood trickling out.

Finally, when the pain became too great, Dean quickly rose to his paws and easily whipped the male tiger off of his back. Wisely, the female tiger took the opportunity to move her injured body out of under the Hunter. She was bloodied and weakened, but not dead. The control Bearthian had over her disabled her from attempting to retreat as a normal tiger would. Instead, she continued the fight.

She chose not to engage Dean again, but rather charged at Sammy. The older brother noticed this, and having to kick the other tiger's mouth off of his left back leg, he raced over to save his brother.

Sam was weak and conserving energy, but he wasn't useless. He wasn't defenseless. He saw the she-tiger coming and grasped the large sword. It would be difficult to swing sitting down, but he didn't have time to fully stand up. He'd have to take his best swing from where he was.

As he placed both hands around the hilt, he mentally prepared himself for the pain it was going to cause his open-wound. Just as the tiger leapt at him, and as he began to swing the sword, an even larger tiger snagged the female right out of the air, forcing her to land crudely next to Sam. Sam watched as Dean viciously sank his fangs into her neck and snapped it. The sound was so offsetting that Sam actually flinched and cringed at it. But he knew it had to be done.

Dean stood up over the lifeless body of the female tiger and turned back toward his other opponent. The male tiger was already charging him, but Dean was ready. The cat reared up on his back legs to get some good swipes at Dean's head, but Dean reared up the same. The Winchester's size far out-matched the tiger's size. He came down hard on top of the tiger, completely humiliating the creature by the size difference and knocked it to the ground.

Once the tiger was on the ground, Dean pounced on it, but it fought back hard. It used all four of its paws to slash at Dean adding another multitude of lacerations to his body. He was beginning to look more red than he did orange and black. To any untrained eye, he'd have looked like he should have been dead, but he wasn't an ordinary tiger. He wasn't even an ordinary man. He was Dean Winchester. And Winchesters didn't back down.

The tiger skillfully shielded its head from Dean's mouth by swiping and swatting with his sharp claws. However, Dean did something the tiger wasn't expecting. Rather than pull back in fear of receiving major cuts and injuries, he forced his massive head through the tiger's paws and claws and went right for the neck. Once he had his fangs around it, there was no fighting back. Dean had won.

Once he was satisfied that both tigers were truly dead, Dean shuffled over to Sammy. He was tired from the kerfuffle, but he wasn't done yet. They still had at least one other major obstacle to deal with: Bearthian.

"You okay?" Sammy asked as he tried to get himself up. Dean nodded and placed his head under Sam's rear to help lift him up. Once Sam was standing, Dean gave him a deep, concerned look. Sam laughed shallowly. "You know me." He said. "I'm Dean Winchester's little brother. I'll make it." He placed a hand on Dean's big head. "I have good teacher."

Dean once again lowered himself to the ground to let Sam get on. Once he was mounted, he rose back up and cautiously approached the entrance to the druid's den. Before entering, he very purposefully looked back at his little brother. Sam was tired, bleeding, bruised, and all around exhausted, but he was alive. Dean was glad for that. Sam noticed him looking and smiled weakly. "I'm ready." He affirmed. "Let's finish this."


	62. Chapter 62

**Chapter 62**

Joel ran at a group of foxes as the creatures bit and harassed a pair of children, a brother and a little sister. Neither of them could have been older than 10. Taking in the situation, he spotted the father trying to get to his kids, but being blocked by a large black bear trying to get a piece of him. Joel knew the father was arguably in more danger, but it was clear by the father's desperate attempts to get by the bear that he would want his children rescued first.

With his arm throbbing in pain with each step he took and the color of his skin growing more pale as his body began demanding rest and recuperation, the British Man of Letters didn't slow down. He charged into the pack of foxes and kicked and hollered to get them away. He had long-ago run out of ammunition and with a broken arm, he was pretty useless in a fight, but he could manage these little pests.

Clearly the mission the animals were given was a solid one. Any normal fox would have run away due to the threat Joel posed to them, but these ones didn't. They ignored his theatrics, determined to fulfill their mission to wipe out the humans. As much as he didn't want to do anything drastic in front of the kids, he had to. One fox jumped up on the little girl, eliciting a shriek from her, and bit down on the side of her neck. Before the fox had a chance to do any threatening damage, Joel took his good arm and grabbed the fox by the head. He squeezed hard until the fox was forced to release the girl's neck and he tossed the fox to the ground and stepped down hard on its head. Once he felt the definitive squish of skull and brain matter under his boot, he moved on to finish the rest of the crew.

Lucy finished dealing with a pack of monkeys from the zoo when she noticed Joel wrestling to save a couple kids. Anyone around could notice the large bear blocking the father off. The man was bloodied and clawed, but from the looks of it from where she was, he would live. That is, if he was saved now!

She ran toward the man, her gun in hand. When she took the job to be an animal control officer, she thought she'd be rescuing lost dogs and stray kittens. She was issued a gun and trained in proper usage, but she waved it off mentally as something she'd never really have to do. She couldn't have been more wrong.

Here she was, charging a rampaging black bear to save a man's life. She took aim and shot. It was a direct hit. However, the bear was too large to go down from one shot. Angered, the bear turned at her and moved at her like a bloodthirsty bulldozer. She knew she had to finish it before it reached her. She tightened her finger around the gun's trigger and pulled. Then she did it again. And again. Finally, the bear came skidding to a stop right in front of her. She let out a deep sigh of relief and checked the bear's breathing. Once convinced it was truly dead, she headed over to the man to check on his wounds.

With Curtis calling in the state troopers to help with this city-wide stampede, the citizens of Singleshot fled from homes and followed the local law enforcement's orders to gather together at city hall. Many people had attempted to flee the city altogether, but Bearthian was smarter than that. At every town exit was a menacing platoon of deadly animals. Each one was ready and eager to put a stop to the life running through each human's veins. Instead of fleeing, the police thought it would be better to get everyone together so they could focus their defenses.

The city wasn't going to make it. It was unfortunate enough to be located in the center of a national forest and therefore was right in the middle of animal-central. The number of animals surrounding and threatening the small city was absolutely overwhelming and as time went on and as more animals made their way into the streets, the people were beginning to realize it. It was only a matter of time before the city was entirely overrun and the citizens entirely wiped out. Their only hope seemed to them to be the state troopers, but they had quite a ways to travel before they arrived. The people worried they wouldn't last that long.

With the kids and father saved, Lucy and Joel both continued their slow and distracted journey to city hall, stopping to assist anyone they saw along the way. They knew better than the citizens. This was not a natural occurrence. The state troopers could help, but they were not the answer. Joel looked in the direction of the forest where Sam and Dean had entered in and spoke quietly. "You guys better hurry." As he looked back, he saw another wave of beasts moving in. They weren't organized like an army, but they were organized enough. It was clear to him; time was running out.


	63. Chapter 63

**Chapter 63**

Sammy pressed his body tightly against Dean's back as he rode him through the rather small opening to the druid's hideaway. Despite how quiet and tranquil the small alcove was, they knew serious danger lurked within. They both took in their surroundings. It was like something out of _Alice In Wonderland_. There were pieces of furniture shaped out of rocks, roots, and over-sized leaves. The whole thing was lit by large glowing mushrooms and collections of fireflies in tight clusters. Everything someone would need to live was found within the lair and it was all fashioned out of unnaturally shaped and sized plants and stones. It was truly a sight to behold. But the Winchesters knew that they couldn't allow themselves to be distracted by the otherworldly beauty. Their lives, as well as the lives of the citizens of Singleshot, depended on them being sharp and alert. They had to take the druid down.

As they traveled through the lair, they entered a larger, more empty room. In it was nothing more than various cages and pens formed from tangled tree roots. Dean brought them close to the first cage on their right. In it was a penguin. It seemed desperate to get the Hunters' attention. It squawked and wiggled as if it was trying to communicate. Sam couldn't tell what it was saying, but he assumed Dean could. Behind them, in another cage, was a rabbit who also began squealing and bouncing about his enclosure. Sam had a suspicion. "Dean..." He whispered in the tiger's sensitive ear. "Are these the missing persons?"

The tiger nodded in affirmation. Indeed, they were. It was no surprise to Sam given Dean's condition. It was no wonder that the druid had gotten other people too. As much as he hated that Dean had to live as an animal, he at least was glad that he had been turned into a fierce one. He couldn't imagine doing this Hunt with a human-minded rabbit, or worse, some strange insect. He could only imagine how difficult it would have been to keep Dean safe had he been transformed into something more like a mouse. For what the curse was, a tiger was about the best one could ask for.

Sam turned back to the captured animals. "I assume you can understand me." He started. "We're going to take care of the druid, then we'll come back for you." He and Dean turned to continue deeper into the lair. "I promise."

Dean suddenly stopped and turned his head back. Sam could hear that some sort of animal was moving about behind them. "Some guard?" Sam asked. Dean seemed to think so as well. "I guess we've gotta' keep moving forward. Maybe if we kill the druid we can save one more animal from having to die." He hoped. Then he turned to the cages for a moment, and then looked at Dean. "And hopefully save you all too."

The deeper they went down into the underground homestead of the killer druid, the more otherworldly it became. They started taking note of various colorful flowers and thorned plants that they had never seen before. It was possible they just hadn't seen them around the U.S.A. but Sam was pretty sure that they weren't a known species at all. They were something only the nature-oriented powers of the druid could produce.

Sam could feel Dean's massive muscles tense up as they crept through a narrow stone-made corridor. "We're close?" He whispered. Dean nodded. His cat-senses could easily tell that there was something in the coming room, and given by the scent coming from ahead, it was Bearthian. That knowledge prompted a very careful approach by Dean. The last thing he wanted to do was put Sammy in danger.

The room they entered was large and circular. The interior was entirely empty, save a large tree root that held the stone and dirt ceiling up in the center. The surrounding walls were made of jagged stone, like the inside of a cave. Waiting on the other side of the space was Bearthian. He was clearly expecting them.

Sam dismounted Dean and hefted the sword up in his hands. Such a simple motion caused a considerable amount of pain in his back where he had been gored by the dryad. Even so, he strived his best to ensure that the pain didn't show in his face or stance. He could feel the quickly-made bandages over the wound slowly start to grow moist. He was already causing blood to flow more rapidly from the wound. It was no surprise to him at all. It was a serious wound, but he was still hoping it would cooperate a bit more.

The room was silent as the two sides stared each other down. It was then that Sammy noticed that the druid hadn't once glanced his direction. He was focused on Dean with an intense glare. He noticed that Dean had gone more rigid and quiet. Something was happening and Sam didn't like the feel of it.

Dean could feel Bearthian in his head. He was reaching out to him. Calling to him silently. Beckoning him to his will. It was like a heavy fog was rolling into his mind, overshadowing his priorities and cares. The worry of Sam, the Impala, or even Hunting in general were starting to fade away. His mind was growing dark and an urge to obey was beginning to drown his will.

"Dean!" Echoed a familiar voice through his pointed ears. "Dean!" It rang again. Suddenly, the tiger felt the touch of a well-known hand on his cheeks. He could see a beloved face, but the fog remained. Bearthian was strong! "Dean, don't give in." Sam pleaded. "Stay with me." He begged. Dean tried to fight it. It was like Sam was a lighthouse on a foggy, dark night. He could see the light. He needed to get there, but the journey out of Bearthian's influence was a difficult one. "Dean..." Sam said more softly. "I can't do this alone." He stated weakly. "I'm hurt, man." Dean fought as best he could to get out of the haze. The more Sam spoke and petted him, the clearer his mind grew. The closer out of the haze he became. Finally, Sam said the needed words. "I need you."

Sammy jumped back as Dean erupted in an earth-shaking roar. A smile of relief overcame Sam as the tiger charged at the druid, clearly with the intent to kill. Hefting the sword up, Sam prepared himself for the battle. He knew they needed to be careful. This was the first druid they had ever faced. Only time would tell what he was capable of.


	64. Chapter 64

**Chapter 64**

Joel and Lucy stood at the front doors of the city hall as Curtis raced up in a beaten up animal control car. The vehicle looked totally beaten on. It was clear he had had a tough drive to get to them. Blood and bits of fur lingered on the doors and hood of the car. Curtis exited the vehicle and ran to the doors as Lucy flung them open to let him inside before slamming them shut again and locking them.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" She smiled widely as she threw her arms around the older, more stoic man.

"I'm fine." He said plainly, but Lucy understood the emotion hidden there within. "But we're not going to be for long. Their numbers are uncountable." He explained. "Thousands!" As he spoke the word, it was clear the citizens around them were growing nervous at his report. He decided it would be wiser to speak more softly.

"So, what are we gonna' do?" Lucy asked. Curtis didn't speak. He felt like he was totally out of his element. Sure, they were animals and he was animal control, but he was not trained for an organized animal army attack. This was like something out of a cheesy scary movie. Instead, he looked to Joel who was listening, but hadn't taken his eyes off the large numbers of animals gathering outside. They were forming a perimeter around the governmental building. Escape was no longer an option. All the beasts had to do now was choose to charge in.

Noticing the two animal control officers looking at him, he allowed his attention to be torn away from the impending doom and addressed them. "There's not much we _can_ do." He explained. "We get any people capable of wielding some makeshift weapon and we hold the doors as long as we can." He turned and looked around the building. "Get everyone into the main lobby and barricade all the windows and doors that lead into it."

"But what about the animals?" Lucy asked.

"We just hold them off until Sam and his brother kill the druid, hopefully ending this insanity." Joel explained.

"And if they fail?" Curtis asked.

"Or what if that doesn't stop the animals?" Lucy speculated. "Will the state troopers save us?"

"It's unlikely they could save us from the massive amount of animals out there." Joel said. "If Sam and Dean fail..." He grew softer, making sure only the animal control officers were listening. "...then we're all dead."


	65. Chapter 65

**Chapter 65**

Sammy pressed his hand hard against the wound on his back as the druid had torn the bandage off and worsened the injury. Dean pounced on Bearthian to get him away from Sammy and wrestled with him on the ground. Dean was huge, but the druid was no joke. He was like the queen on a chessboard. It seemed like there wasn't anything he couldn't do. He was strong, fast, and had the weapons of any animal he needed at his disposal. All he had to do it was will it and he could change portions of his body into the parts desired.

As Dean swatted at the druid, Bearthian turned his hand into that of a lion and swatted back. The heavy hand and claws made contact with Dean's large head and sent him off to the side on the ground. Bearthian wasted no time as he got up and charged at Dean, walloping him with his over-sized antlers. The tiger yelped out in pain.

Sam wasn't about to just sit and watch Dean suffer. He began to force himself onto his feet, but noticed Dean looking at him. The tiger shook his head desperately trying to stop Sammy from getting up. Sam knew Dean meant well. He was just trying to protect him, but it was clear Dean needed help. Sam shook his head back. "I'm fine, Dean!" Sam grunted as he tried to steady himself. The tiger kept urging him to stop. It was clear he thought Sam was too injured. "I can do this!" Sam tried to convince him. He hated that Dean was so torn, with his body fighting off Bearthian, with his mind trying to protect his little brother. Sam fell back to his butt and grunted. Blood was pooling around him. If he was going to act, he needed to do so quickly. "Trust me, Dean!" Sam shouted. "Please!" At those words Dean turned back to Bearthian and fought. Sam understood that to mean that Dean was ready to trust him. "I can do this!"

He raised the sword and charged in, feeling much like a knight of old. The difference was that those knights were trained and carried weapons appropriate for their size. This sword was much too heavy for Sam and he had never used anything like it before! Even so, he knew it was a blade, and therefore it could cut. So that was what he was going to do!

He got within range of the druid and swung it horizontally at the druid's menacing form, much like a baseball player would swing a comically large bat. Rather than do any damage, the swing was stopped as the druid grabbed the blade in mid-swing and yanked it right out of Sam's hand, pulling Sammy stumbling to the ground next to Dean.

Lying on his stomach next to a massive tiger, Sam felt the agonizing pain of the druid's foot pressing down with some sort of animal's claws right onto his bruised and cut back, causing more puncture wounds and forcing his gore-wound to bleed more onto the ground. He practically bit his tongue to refrain from giving the druid the pleasure of hearing him cry out, but he couldn't take much more!

Dean forced himself up and charged Bearthian again. This time he stood up on his hind legs, towering over the druid, and came down hard at him, planting his clawed paws into the monster's face. Dark blood began seeping out of the torn skin, but the druid showed no sign of concern.

The druid allowed a rhinoceroses horn to grow rapidly from his head in place of his antlers and lowered his head like a battering ram. In a flash, he charged Dean and nicked him, but the tiger was too quick for a really good hit.

Bearthian stopped at the other side of the room and looked back at the two Hunters. He was pleased to see that neither seemed to be in good shape. It was looking like it would just be a game of endurance more than anything. If he could outlast the Hunters, the wounds they'd already suffered prior to their arrival to his lair would do them in. The tiger was panting heavily and coated in dried blood and bruises. The human was still collapsed on the floor bleeding out. On top of that, he was covered in all sorts of bruises, gashes, and claw wounds. And both of them looked utterly exhausted. It was clear to the druid that he had the advantage.

"You can't win." He finally spoke in a deep voice. Sam and Dean both looked at him and stubborn resistance flashed in both of their features. Bearthian could tell they weren't going to back down, but it didn't matter. He was in better condition. He could endure longer than they could.

The human forced himself to his feet and spoke. "We will win." Sam said boldly. "We do this for a living." He taunted. "Smallfries like you don't worry us. We've dealt with bigger fish than you with less than we have now."

"You have nothing." Bearthian countered.

Sam laughed humorlessly at the druid's perception. "We've got more than you." With those words Sam dropped the sword and looked at Dean. "Trust me." With those words, Sam charged the druid, tackling him to the ground. He cried out as all his wounds shrieked in pain, but he didn't budge. He forced the druid to remain on the dirt for as long as he could.

The bold tackle gave Dean enough time to charge over and bite down on the druid's human-like head. With the head in his mouth, Dean shook and pulled as hard as he could, hoping to inflict as much damage to the monster as he could. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.

Bearthian shoved the human off of his body with one mighty push. Sam landed painfully on his side a few feet away from the fight. The druid then allowed his arms to become those of a gorilla and used the added strength to force the tiger's mouth off of his head.

Dean realized he had lost the tussle and released the druid and wiggled his way out of the gorilla hands before they had a chance to do anything to him. He looked over to see his brother coughing up blood and holding his hand over a flowing wound. They didn't have time. Sammy needed medical attention.

The younger Winchester looked over at his brother as he wiped the blood from his lips and saw the tiger looking between him and the druid. Sam looked over at the druid who was flexing his newly formed bear arms and readying his massive claws for the next engagement. Sam looked back at Dean. Dean was staring at him. His eyes looked worried and desperate. Sam took a deep breath. He had known Dean long enough to know what that meant. It meant Dean was worried about him and was about to do something reckless and stupid to try to save him.

Just as Sammy suspected, Dean threw safety and self-preservation to the wind and charged at the druid in full-rampage mode. Dean was fully exposed to injury. He was either going to kill or be killed in this assault. As Sam watched it unfold in what felt like slow-motion, he could already tell that the druid had the advantage. His bear claws were up and ready to dig into the tiring tiger as soon as he came within reach.

Unwilling to allow Dean to get himself killed, Sam forced his body onto his feet and ran for the sword. He heard the sound of Dean roaring in pain behind him as he scooped the sword up. The claws had sunk into him. All it would take now was for Bearthian to rake those claws across any of Dean's vital organs or veins and he'd be toast. Sam had to hurry.

Adrenaline ran through the younger Winchester, enabling him to book it over to his brother faster than his injured body should ever have been able to. Just as the muscles in the druid's arms tightened to perform the killing blow on Dean, Sam swung the heavy sword with all his might, as if he was trying to get a home-run with the druid's head.

The sword lodged itself in the druid skull, but never made it all the way through as Sam was trying to do. Beheading or not, the wound was fatal. Bearthian's grip on Dean weakened as the last beats of his heart rang out in slowing succession. Finally, the mystical body of the druid fell limp on the ground before withering away into a pile of decaying weeds and leaves. Soon, they were gone entirely.

Sam immediately collapsed on the floor. He was pale and bleeding out. Dean was exhausted and injured badly, but he knew he couldn't waste a second. He skillfully scooped Sammy's cold, limp body onto his back so that Sam's stomach rested securely on his furred back and raced back toward the exit of the lair.

He reached the room with the captive people-now-animals. He roared to them explaining the situation and broke them free from their pens. There were several animals there. It was likely that Bearthian had been collecting humans as animals for years now. There were rabbits, various birds, deer, and even a penguin. The animals all understood the rush Dean was in and collected themselves to follow him back to the city. Some of the slower animals were able to ride on the back of the deer while the others all flew or ran themselves behind Dean who led them out of the lair, through the forest, and toward Singleshot. The whole time, he worried desperately for the dying man on his back.


	66. Chapter 66

**Chapter 66**

Lucy wrestled for her life against a lynx as she defended the scared citizens of Singleshot behind her. The animals had succeeded mostly in breaking through the barricade the people had tried to create at the city hall's front doors. Now they were locked in mortal combat. All able-bodied men and women were fighting the creatures of nature off as best they could with makeshift weapons. Some wielded coat hangers, small stools or folding chairs, lamps, and other such objects. Both animals and humans had lost lives, but it was clear to both sides that the animals had the numbers. They were going to win.

Just before the last of Lucy's strength gave out on her, the lynx's face shifted from rage to fear. Suddenly it, with all the other animals, stopped their crazed assault and acted confused and frightened of their surroundings and the people there with them. As if a cue had been given, they all bolted off in various directions to get as far away from humans as they could and back into their beloved forest. The humans all watched in a stupor as the strange war came to an abrupt end.

Unfortunately, lives had been lost. The good news was that it was over. Lucy, Curtis, and Joel all looked at each other and smiled in relief. The Winchesters had come through for them. They were saved!

Joel had wasted no time in directing people to aid the wounded and collect the dead. It was better to keep people busy for the moment than to let them think too much. Nothing that had happened was natural. Thinking would only lead to confusion and fear. It was best they were occupied with some sort of chore. Plus, the wounded needed the attention. Some were victims of minor wounds, but some were very serious.

Serious of all serious wounds in the city of Singleshot, a tiger sprinted into town with a near-death man on his back; pale, weak, and shaking of cold under the hot sun. Dean noticed the immense amount of destruction that the city had suffered, including dead bodies in the street, but didn't allow himself to get caught up in it at the moment. He was on a much more important mission. He didn't see any people around, but he could smell where they were at.

Joel heard the panicked screams of people and ran to the front door to see what was happening. In front of him was a severely beaten and wounded tiger carrying an almost dead Sam Winchester on his back. Behind them was a small party of various animals. Joel wasn't positive, but he assumed they were the missing people.

"Someone get a doctor!" He shouted. Within brief moments, Jerry Kinland, a doctor at the local emergency room, bolted toward them, hesitantly approaching the battle-bloodied tiger and pulling the dying man off of it. If it wasn't for Joel standing so calmly next to the massive cat, the doctor would never have approached.

Jerry could tell right away that the victim was only hanging on by a thread. Fortunately, some of the other doctors and nurses from his emergency room were also present in the city hall. Together, he was confident they could stabilize him.

Dean watched as Sammy was carried carefully away into a small office and the doctor gathered various other medical personnel from his workplace to care for his brother. "Wait here." Jerry instructed Joel and the tiger as he shut the door and began his work.

Lucy and Curtis watched as Dean's massive tiger form paced nervously and impatiently back and forth in front of the shut office door. They knew that behind the door the scene was probably pretty ugly. Sammy was bleeding out at an alarming rate. The only hope Dean had of keeping his brother alive was the hands of the doctors caring for him.

Time seemed to crawl by for Dean. He could overhear the people working on his brother talking about how many injuries he had. They seemed like they couldn't believe it. They mentioned claw marks, talon wounds, bite marks, bruises, scrapes, and of course, the large gaping gore-wound in his back. They were amazed he was even alive!

After about an hour, most the people that had huddled into the city hall had finished collecting bodies and aiding those who were not-so-severely injured. They started to make their way back into the disaster that was the remainder of their beloved city. The only people that stayed behind were those still in shock, Lucy and Curtis, Joel, and of course, Dean. He had finally finished his pacing routine, but was still a nervous wreck.

Finally, the door swung open. The scene Dean was hoping for wasn't what was revealed. Instead, the doctors rushed out, carefully carrying Sammy's unconscious form in their collective hands and headed toward the front doors. Jerry Kinland approached Joel and quickly informed him of the situation. "We managed to stop the bleeding..." He looked at his helpers as they ran Sammy out of city hall. "However, he has lost too much blood and the treatments for the bleeding that we came up with her are only temporary. He needs real medical attention at our hospital."

"Is that where you're taking him?" Joel asked for Dean's sake.

"Yes. We're going to give him a blood transfusion immediately followed up by some minor operations to close up the more serious wounds he has." Jerry shook his head in disbelief. "Whatever that kid got involved in... well, let's just say he's lucky he's alive."

The doctor rushed off to catch up with the others caring for Sam and they were off to the hospital in a flash. They were in one of the helper's minivans and drove hectically down the debris and car littered streets to the hospital. Much of the city's power was still on, but there were sections that had lost it due to the animal attacks. Fortunately, the hospital was kept on massive generators. There was a very good chance that they would be able to use the equipment Sammy needed.

"Do you know where that is?" Joel asked Dean, but he was already heading out the front door. He didn't need directions. He could identify Sammy's scent with his human nose if asked to. There was no way in hell he'd lose track of his brother with the feline nose he had now. That fact did weigh on his nerves a bit, though. They had killed the druid. The animals all went back to their normal frame of mind. Why was he and the other victims still in their transformed animal bodies? He sprinted behind the van, pushing the thought from his mind. Now wasn't the time to worry about himself. Sammy was the one in danger.


	67. Chapter 67

**Chapter 67**

His eyes felt heavy as Sammy pried them open to reenter the world of the aware. Everything was blurry and his body felt a bit woozy. He tried to readjust himself in the bed he was lying in, but his limbs felt like they each weighed a thousand pounds. He blinked really hard to try to focus his vision and when he reopened them, he saw a big orange tiger's head resting on his lap, the Winchester-green eyes staring concernedly at him.

"He hasn't left your side since he got you to the city hall." Joel explained from across the room. He was in the middle of closing his suitcase. "I'm heading out, but I didn't want to leave until I knew you were okay."

"Thanks." Sam muttered, his lips were a bit numb and slow to move. "I appreciate your help on the Hunt."

"Don't mention it." he responded as he finished putting on his mud-caked shoes. "Consider this payment."

"What?" Sammy asked a bit confused.

"Yours and your brother's clothes." Joel laughed. It was then Sammy noticed that the British Man of Letters wasn't wearing his suit that he came in or anything close to that level of class. All that was ruined on their Hunt.

"Fair enough." Sam laughed, causing him to flinch a bit in pain. His entire midsection was very sore from the wound and the following operation. Dean perked up with concern, but Sam waved him down casually. "I'm fine." He said. "Just a bit sore."

"Anyway..." Joel headed toward the door. "Always happy to help other Men of Letters." He opened the room up to the parking lot. "Good luck with..." he gestured at Dean's cat body. "...figuring this out."

"Thanks." Sammy said again as he looked softly at Dean. It was a bother that he was still a tiger. But that prompted a thought. "Joel." He called out as loudly as he could. The Hunter turned back to him.

"Yeah?"

"What about all the animals we brought from the woods?"

"Oh, right." He nodded. "They stuck around the city hall, so they were easy to identify as different." He explained. "Lucy and Curtis ended up taking them away before the state troopers arrived. Lucy said she'd take care of them until...or if... they turn back into humans."

"They will." Sam said firmly.

"Right." Joel agreed. "They will."

With that the man left the two Winchester brothers alone in their motel room for the first time in days. Dean continued to lounge with his brother as Sam tried to force the tiredness and the weakness out of his body. Sure, the Hunt was done, but the work of a Hunter was never done. The longer they relaxed, the more danger people were in.

Sam allowed himself just a few minutes of rest before finally forcing himself to action. "Alright, Dean." He said. The tiger stood up carefully over his brother on the bed. "Let's get moving." Sam slowly and carefully moved himself out of the bed and tried his luck at balancing on his feet. Dean quickly jumped down to the floor and allowed Sammy to lean on him for balance. Sammy placed his hand on the tiger's back and realized how hurt and bloody Dean was. "You're no better off than I am."

Dean attempted to brush off his wounds visibly so that Sam wouldn't worry over him. He'd be fine. The body of a tiger was like a tank. It would take more than just some flesh wounds to put him down. Sammy went to gather all of their things, but found that the task was pretty simple. "Unfortunately, Dean, this is all we have left." He held up their toiletries and cell phones. I ruined all my clothes in the muddy woods." Dean looked confused at his bag. "Sorry, man. Joel ruined all of yours."

He grabbed their mostly empty bags and headed to the door. "We'll just have to get more." Sam packed up the car and then headed back in. "Let's get you cleaned up before we hit the road. The Impala has seen enough dirt and blood for one Hunt."

Sam bathed Dean with the remainder of the complementary soap the motel offered. The large cat lounged unabashedly in the bathtub as Sammy scrubbed him clean and talked. "I know you're worried about being a tiger still. Hell, I am too." He scratched behind Dean's ears. "I thought that killing the druid would end the curse." Dean just shrugged. "Yeah, yeah. I know you're fine. And I bet you'll be a human before long anyways." Sam smiled to the tiger. "Sometimes curses just take some time to fade, right?" Dean nodded, though he actually had no idea of that was true or not. "We'll give it some time and I bet you'll be right as rain." Dean nodded and relaxed into the warm water, but he could sense Sam tensing up. "Then we can talk."

Dean looked at Sammy with a stern, but loving face. "I know you want to talk about me going behind your back and calling the British Men of Letters." Sam explained. "I have my side of the argument too, y'know?" He added. "But it's something we can sort through once you're human again, okay?" He rinsed the soap from Dean's fur. "And then..." He sighed heavily. "If you want to part ways, I won't be okay with it..." He breathed heavily again. "But I'll do whatever you want."


	68. Chapter 68

**Chapter 68**

Singleshot slowly rebuilt and recollected a level of order again after the druid attacks. The news speculated all sorts of reasons that the animals would have attacked including the typical culprits thrown around: global warming, loss of their natural habitat, pollution, and other such outlandish concepts. None of them came anywhere close to the truth, and if the Hunters had their way, they never would. It was better for society to go on believing that monsters didn't exist. There was no need for everyone to live in the darkness that Hunters dwelt in.

However, in Singleshot, not everyone continued living with a blindfold on. Lucy and Curtis both had their eyes opened to what was really out there. They had danced with that darkness, and thanks to Sam, Dean, and Joel, they had survived it. As much as they didn't want to be involved anymore, they couldn't forget what they had learned. And even more, Lucy had gotten herself involved in it when she volunteered to care for the humans that had been transformed into animals.

After just over a month of work to get Singleshot reestablished and as people's minds began to lull back into the worries of everyday life, Lucy found that something she was beginning to lose hope in happened.

Lucy about fell out of her chair when a sudden panicked scream blasted through the back window of her small home on the outskirts of town. She turned around in a rush and checked the fenced-in backyard. A naked woman stood dazed and confused under the motion-activated security light.

It had finally happened. Lucy grabbed a coat and ran outside. She took note of the animals all huddled around as she made her way to the shocked woman. They were all accounted for except a deer. One of the animals had finally turned back into a human!

"Ma'am." Lucy greeted the lady. She had long blonde hair and a petite figure. Her skin was pale and her eyes wide with fear. She turned to the animal control officer and accepted the coat she was handed to cover herself. "You're okay." Lucy assured her. "I'm here to help."

She brought the woman inside and offered her a quick microwaved meal and a cup of coffee. "What's your name?" Lucy asked as the woman chowed down as if she hadn't eaten anything in months.

The woman looked at her and Lucy could tell she was working hard to recall her life before the druid had entered it. "Amanda." She answered finally. Her voice was soft and coarse, like she hadn't used it in a long time. Lucy figured that was simply because she hadn't. She'd been stuck in the body of a deer unable to speak. It was likely she'd take some time to readjust to life as a woman.

"Are you hurt, Amanda?" Lucy asked.

Amanda simply shook her head 'no' as she continued eating. "Good." Lucy sat opposite her at the small dining room table. "I'm Lucy" She introduced herself. "I'm a friend."

"I know." Amanda said. Her eyes met Lucy's. "I remember it." She said heavily. "I remember it all."

Lucy couldn't believe it. Part of her wasn't expecting the woman to have any memory of it all. She wasn't entirely sure why she thought that since the animals all seemed to retain their human thoughts, but regardless, she still thought that. "I'm so sorry." Was all she could think to say.

"I remember it all." Amanda said again, more softly this time. "He came at me on my jog." She explained as she sipped her hot coffee. "I live on the edge of the woods. I always went for a jog in the morning before I'd get my daughters ready for school." She sipped her coffee again. It was probably a lot better than whatever muddy water she had been drinking in the woods. "I never jogged deep into the woods. I was always too scared of bears."

"What happened exactly?" Lucy asked, unable to contain her curiosity. As much as she didn't want to get involved in the world of monsters, she was already in-the-know. There was no reason not to ask some basic questions.

"He was punishing me."

"For what?"

"The evening before I went jogging, I went into town to fetch some snacks and stuff for my daughter's classroom party at school." Amanda took another bite of her cheap meal. "When I pulled back into the driveway, I accidentally ran over my daughters' cat." She teared up a bit. "I didn't mean to. It was totally an accident, and I told my family right away. I didn't keep it secret or anything."

"That's rough."

"Yeah." Amanda agreed through soft tears. "So after dinner, we all went out and buried the cat at the edge of the woods. We loved that cat. We couldn't just leave him on the side of the road or anything."

"I buried my dog when she died. They become like part of the family."

"Exactly." She agreed. "The next morning I went jogging and that's when he got me. He said I'd carelessly murdered an animal. His voice was deep. Menacing." She placed her head in her hands. "I'll never forget it."

"You're safe now." Lucy assured her. "That monster's been dealt with."

"I know." Amanda said. "He got what he deserved."

"Yeah." Lucy stood up and took her dishes once she was done. "Hey, why don't you take a nice hot shower and I'll set out some clothes for you. Okay?" Amanda stood up and smiled gratefully. "Then we'll see about getting you home. Sound good?"

"That sounds amazing." Amanda was practically sobbing for joy. "Thank you so much!"

From then on, as days and weeks went by, the various animals in Lucy's backyard started turning back into the humans they once were. She took it upon herself to help them and get them back to their homes and family. It was a job she never in a lifetime would have thought she'd be doing, but she was glad she was available to do it.

As the last victim was back to his home, Lucy retired to her now-empty house with her now-empty backyard. It was quiet again, but as much as she loved animals, she was grateful to be alone. She turned on the TV and flipped to the local news. Nothing about animals. Nothing about destruction. It was all just boring run-of-the-mill broadcasts. She was glad for that. It looked like things at Singleshot were finally starting to return to some condition of 'normal'.


	69. Chapter 69

**Chapter 69**

Sammy drove down a narrow country road in the southeastern region of Michigan as he called another minor case finished. Since the Hunt in Singleshot and the continued struggle of Dean's persistent and peculiar condition of being a feline, he had taken on rather simple Hunts. He'd dealt with a few ghosts and a couple unimpressive vampires. Nothing that really made him break a sweat, and definitely nothing that required him to rely on the British Men of Letters for aid. He knew he was in deep trouble with his brother, even though the Hunt ended with a successful ganking. It was wisest to steer clear of any Men of Letters until Dean and he were able to hash things out.

He wasn't entirely sure where he was driving. He just wanted to keep them moving and keep their minds from becoming stagnant with despair regarding Dean's condition. It was better to go from town to town, Hunt to Hunt. Sam drove as the sun began its descent below the horizon, splashing a glaring orange across the clouds littering the open sky.

Sammy glanced in the backseat where Dean was and smirked. He knew that a potentially ugly fight would be upon them if he ever turned human again, but the sight of his big brother snoozing away like some lazy house cat couldn't be described in any other word then cute.

He readjusted his eyes to the road and drove south by the light of the dying sun. The purr of the Impala was the only sound for miles. That all changed when a strange sound resounded from the rear seat. It sounded like air being let out of a tire, only with a mystical twist to it.

Sam looked in the rear-view mirror. It was Dean! Rather than a large cat sprawled out in the backseat catching Z's, it was the true Dean. Human and as naked as the day he was born, Dean was sprawled out sleeping like a rock in the back of his car.

The younger Winchester slammed the brakes on and pulled the car over to the side of the road. The sudden shift awakened Dean in a startling manner. Rather than speaking English to express his fright, he growled. However, it only took Dean a few seconds to realize things were different. He first made eye-contact with Sammy and then followed Sam's eyes to his own body. He looked himself over from his very-human feet all the way up to his chest before he placed his hands (which now featured thumbs) onto his face and felt just how familiar and human it felt.

"Sammy!" He hollered in excitement. His face couldn't contain how excited he was.

"You're human!" Sam stated the obvious in celebration.

"I knew it would work!" Dean bragged as he pumped his fist excitedly. "Killing the son-of-a-bitch always breaks the spell." He knew this wasn't actually true, and he was lying about his confidence in ever becoming human again, but none of that mattered. He was human. That was enough!

Dean wrapped his arms around his brother over the seat of the Impala and hugged him tightly. Sam embraced him back with all his might. "I'm so glad to have you back." He said through nearly trembling lips. The thought of having a tiger-brother for the rest of his life had slowly begun to be the future he believed he'd have. Having his real big brother back was the most exciting thing that could have happened to him at the time.

"I never left." Dean said as he held their embrace.

Sam indulged Dean a while longer and kept the hug for a few moments before finally pulling back and staring at his brother's green eyes. They were the same eyes the tiger had. "I know." Sam explained. "But it's good to have a human brother." Dean gave him a sly and questioning look. Sam returned with his own questioning look. "How much do you remember?"

Dean looked down at his bare feet for a moment and then back at Sammy. "Everything." Dean nodded as he recalled the entire event. "I remember being transformed. I remember walking on all fours. I remember the fight." Dean shrugged. "I remember it all."

"Oh." Sam said as he took in what Dean must have been feeling.

Dean then smirked wickedly. "And I seem to remember you thoroughly enjoying having a pet cat."

"I never called you my pet." Sam protested.

"Right." Dean laughed. "You sure treated me like a pet." He faux-punched Sam on the shoulder.

"I did not!" Sam argued back.

"Oh, yes!" Dean retorted. "I remember you curling up with me, sleeping with me." He listed. "Petting me." Dean then smirked even more widely. "Plus..." He added. "I know you bathed me." Sam tried to keep a steady and stoic face. Dean smiled. "All of me." The words were immensely heavy with implication that was not lost on Sam.

Sam's cheeks turned red. "Shut up, jerk!" He caved in under Dean's accusations. "You were a mess and someone had to take care of you."

"Mhmm." Dean said sarcastically. "Sure."

"Whatever." Sam rolled his eyes before turning back around. "That's the last time I try to take care of you."

"No it's not." Dean said plainly, like it was a simple fact. "You'll be there for me the next time I need help."

"Let's get you to a motel." Sam stated before the chick-flick moment went too far. "I bet you're tired from all the sleeping you've been doing."

"You have no idea." Dean laughed. "Got any clothes?"

"We need to go shopping." Sam explained. "Lost 'em all on the Hunt."

"I remember." Dean explained. "I just thought maybe you got some on one of your outtings."

"No." Sam said. "Not for you." Sam's words came with a hint of guilt.

Dean sensed that. "Why not?"

Sam sighed heavily. "I was starting to lose hope that you'd ever be human again." He confessed. "I didn't want to face it. Didn't want to deal with it, so I just ignored the fact that you were ever anything but a tiger."

"Huh." Was all Dean said.

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize." Dean replied. "Seriously." Sam looked back at Dean as he felt his eyes on the back of his head. "I know that it was just as hard as you as it was on me."

"I'm just glad you're back."

"I never left."

"You know what I mean." Sam said with a smile. "We can get you some clothes in whatever town we can find a motel in." Sam opened the door. "Until then, I'll get you the blanket from the trunk."

"What? My sexy bod too distracting in the mirror?" Dean gave a flirty wink to his brother.

"Gross." Sam chuckled. "We're brothers you perv." Sam got the blanket, opened the back door of the Impala, and tossed it in his brother's face. "Here. Sit up front. I'm tired of chauffeuring you around like some lazy cat."

Dean wrapped the small blanket tightly around his waist and headed to the passenger's seat. "I may have been a cat..." He started. "But I was never lazy."

"That's debatable." Sam countered with a light giggle.

"Saved your ass more than once."

"Yeah, yeah." Sam said as he pulled the car back on the road and drove them to the next town.

Once in Lambertville, Sam parked the Impala at a small Bed and Breakfast since there was no motel. Sam opened the door and looked at it. It was a charming little home that he assumed was run by an old couple that would seem like they came out of some family movie. "It'll have to do." Sam stated. "It's the only place in town."

"Seriously?" Dean asked. "I'm naked. I don't want to talk to someone to get a room."

"I'll go talk." Sam said. He did just that and found that all of his assumptions about the place were accurate. Once he had the key, he returned to the Impala and grabbed their weapons from the trunk along with the bag that would normally have been filled with both of their apparel. "Ready?" He asked Dean.

"I guess so."

"They're in their private quarters of the house. They're not going to see you." Sam explained. "Even if they did, they're like a hundred years old. Who cares?"

"Easy for you to say since you're the one who's _not_ naked."

"Whatever." Sam said as he led Dean into the motel and they got situated. There was only one bed in the room, but they didn't really have any other options.

It was already late by the time they got settled into the room. Dean was eager to pee standing up and to take a shower, so he rushed into the bathroom. Sam spent the time watching some TV, a hobby he didn't often indulge in.

Once Dean was washed, he reentered the bedroom with a baby-blue towel wrapped around his waste. "Ahh, Sammy." He exclaimed in sincere comfort. "Don't get me wrong. I appreciate how much you took care of me when I was a tiger." He smiled to his brother. "But it is really nice to be able to pee by myself and bathe myself."

"You could have done that as a cat." Sam suppressed a laugh. "I could have bought you a litter box and you-"

Dean cut him off. "I was _not_ going to lick myself."

"You missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime." Sam joked.

"Sure." Dean rolled his eyes. "I'm hittin' the mattress."

"Want to take under the sheets and I'll sleep on top?"

"I don't care." Dean shrugged. "I'll sleep in this towel, so do whatever you want."

"Good." Sam smiled. "Because it's too cold to sleep on top of the covers."

They both climbed into bed and settled in, thankful to share the covers because it sped up the warming process. Finally, Sammy turned off the light which was by his side and relaxed into the fluffy pillow provided for him.

Dean pushed himself up onto one elbow and leaned over to Sam. "Hey." He whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Seriously, man." Dean said softly. "Thank you for taking care of me." He spoke honestly. "If it wasn't for you, I'd have gone under Bearthian's control."

"Bearthian?" Sam asked.

"That was the druid's name." Dean explained. "Did you not know that?"

"No. He never introduced himself to me."

"Well, regardless, thank you." Dean expressed his gratitude. It was easier to do it in the dark because he knew Sam couldn't see his face as well. Somehow that made him more comfortable. "You saved me. Again."

"No problem." Sam answered. "Honestly, you saved me." He exhaled. "Had you not been a tiger, I'm pretty sure that I'd be dead." He laughed humorlessly. "I guess Bearthian made a mistake turning you into a tiger. He would have been better off against us as humans."

"Yeah." Dean chuckled. Then the room feel silent for several long seconds. "And Sammy..." Dean said more seriously. "I know things turned out in the end, but we need to talk."

Sam knew exactly what Dean was talking about. It made his stomach sink. His heart slowed too. He was hoping Dean wouldn't remember or wouldn't care to talk anymore. But that didn't matter. He had promised him that they would sort it out once he was a human again, so that's what they needed to do.

"Okay." Sam said and then opened his mouth to start talking.

"But it doesn't have to be now." Dean said more lightly. "We're both tired. Let's deal with it in the morning."

The words were a two-sided coin. On one side, Sam was nervous. Dean wanted to talk about Joel. Though, Joel himself wasn't really the issue. The issue was the call that brought him to Singleshot. That made Sammy nervous. However, on the other side was the fact that Dean had said that it could wait for the morning and it wasn't because Dean was too drunk from rage-drinking to talk. That meant that there was hope for them.

Sam just tried to remain calm. They were brothers. Things would be okay. Or so he hoped. "Okay." He tried to keep his voice plain and calm. "We'll talk tomorrow."

"Good night, bitch."

"Jerk." Sammy smiled. "Good night."


	70. Chapter 70

**Chapter 70**

The morning sun broke through the bedroom's cheap shades and stirred Sammy from his slumber. He had slept through the night, but his mind never really stopped stirring over the 'talk' he was going to have to have with Dean. He knew why he called the British Men of Letters and he was still pretty sure it was the best choice that could have been made. Unfortunately, he was pretty sure Dean wouldn't see it in the same manner.

The thought of his brother brought Sam's eyes to his still-slumbering sibling. Dean was as unaware of the world as a rock. He snored unashamedly as he was sprawled out in typical Dean fashion. His appearance gave that of an oblivious sleep-deprived man, but Sammy knew that Dean's senses were still honed like a Hunter's. Tiger senses or not, Dean would react efficiently to any sudden situation.

Sam lied down on the bed and watched his brother sleep for a few minutes. He figured on any other day such behavior would be weird, but after living with a tiger for so long, it was nice to be able to look and see a very human brother beside him. While pets were nice, they were no family. Not like Dean was. Human Dean.

Through the bitter air of Michigan climate, Sam crossed the rather empty room and got himself showered up and ready to go. If he was lucky, Dean would sleep in for a couple more hours. His big brother wasn't the type to sleep in, but he'd gone through quite the dramatic changes over the last few weeks. It seemed only natural to Sam that he'd be tired. Plus, they didn't have a current Hunt to attend to.

Leaving Dean to his snoozing, Sammy took the Impala and prepared for a busy couple of hours. He wasn't sure Dean would actually sleep the whole time he'd be out, but it didn't really matter. Dean was perfectly capable of watching the boring morning television. In the meantime, Sam ran and got the Impala all cleaned up and presentable. He figured there was no greater "Welcome back to being a human" gift for Dean than a clean car. After that he ran to the only clothing store in town hoping to find at least one outfit for his brother. As he looked at the clothing, he felt a slight pang of guilt. He wasn't exactly sure what sizes to get Dean. Had the tables been turned, Dean would have known exactly what sizes Sammy needed. That's just the kind of over-protective but lovable brother Dean was. Disregarding any real concern, Sam purchased using a 'best guess' attitude. After all, it was just one outfit. Dean could then come out and get his own.

Once the Impala was clean, the clothes were bought, snacks were purchased, and the car was filled with gas, Sam drove back to the motel. He entered the room to find Dean lounging on the bed watching TV as he suspected he would be. Thankfully, Dean wasn't naked. He was clearly showered and ready to go, but had stolen a pair of Sammy's boxer-briefs to lounge in.

"Hey, Sammy." Dean greeted him, not struggling a bit to peel his eyes off the corny sitcom rerun unfolding flatly on the screen.

"Hey." Sam greeted him. "Got you some things."

"We gotta' talk." Dean said, his face no longer seeming as cheerful as it had been.

"Yeah." Sam sat down on the bed by Dean. He felt like he was about to be chewed out. "Let's talk."

Dean flicked off the TV and readjusted himself to be looking at his younger brother. "We've been through a lot together." he started. "Me being a tiger probably reaches near the top on strange things we've endured, but my point is we've been through a lot."

"Yeah." Sam said meekly.

"Not everything we've gone through has been good."

"That's for sure." Sam said lowering his head. He knew what Dean was about to bring up.

"You dying." Dean started. "Me selling my soul. Ruby and the demon blood..." The mention of it made Sam's heart pinch and his eyes to shoot down to the bed in shame. Dean continued. "The Mark of Cain. Me being a demon. The whole list." Dean said. "You know the list."

"I know the list."

"The only thing that gets us through this stuff is trust." Dean explained. "We trust each other."

"Yeah."

"I know I put you in a hard position." Dean explained. "Not wanting you to call the British Men of Letter..."

Sam didn't let Dean finish. "I'm sorry, Dean." Sam blurted out. He hated the guilt he felt for betraying his brother's trust. "I know you didn't want me to call the British Men of Letters. I know this Hunt was supposed to be just for you and me." Sam took a deep breath as Dean stared at him with a little shock. "I'm sorry, man." Sam went on. "I just didn't know what to do. The body count was climbing too high. And you were a tiger!" Sam gestured toward Dean's body. "I didn't know what to do."

"Sammy..." Dean tried to speak, but Sam cut him off again.

"I know I don't have a good track record." Sam felt his eyes watering up. "I know I was a nuisance for you and a worry with my psychic powers. I know I betrayed you with Ruby. I hate myself for that. Truly. I have to live with that every day and it kills me!" His voice began escalating. "I'm so sorry! My whole life you've been the one raising me. You've been the one watching out for me. Even as I left the family for Stanford, you never stopped watching my back." Sam took a big breath and sat silently for a few seconds. "Look." He said with a bit more control. "I know I've let you down. And I'm sorry. You didn't want to get involved with the British Men of Letters anymore than we already are. I know you don't trust them. Hell! I don't even trust them!" He looked into his brother's green eyes. "But I felt out of options. I couldn't risk losing you." Sam sighed. "But I know that it's just another strike on my already miserable record. I know it just brings me down one more notch toward being the worst brother ever. But it's all I could think to do to save you." He looked at his brother through sad eyes. "If you want to part ways..." He choked up. "Then say so. I certainly don't deserve you."

Dean stared at Sammy with a rather miserable expression for what felt like way too long. Finally, he leaned over and hugged his younger brother. "Sammy..." He said gently. "We've had our ups and downs." He started, his voice muffled as his face was buried into his brother's neck. "And yes, you've betrayed me and it hurt more than anyone may ever know. But Sam..." Dean took a minute to collect his thoughts. "I wasn't going to lecture _you_ on trust. I was going to tell you that I think I need to trust you more. I've always let the things of the past hinder my ability to trust you like I should. So you've made mistakes? I have too! Heaven and Hell both know I've made some terrible mistakes. I was a demon, remember? And you saved me." Dean pulled back from his brother, placed both hands on his shoulders, and stared at him intensely. "You've earned my trust. I'm sorry for babying you like you're some sub-par Hunter. You're a better Hunter than I am. You have a way of working with people and overcoming impossible situations that I'll never have. I'm just a bull in a China shop that hates getting along with others."

"That's not true." Sam said. "You're the greatest Hunter that's ever lived."

Dean laughed dismissively at the ludicrous remark. "Says who?"

"Says me."

"The point is, Sammy..." Dean stated slowly. "I don't want to split up."

"Neither do I." Sam said through a growing smile.

"I want to Hunt with you. My brother. And I need to trust you more. You're no fool. You're brilliant and brave. More capable than me. I need to take some cues from you. And I'm sorry for being the overbearing brother I am sometimes."

"All the time."

Dean chuckled. "All the time." He released Sam from his grips and smiled. "I'm glad you called the British Men of Letters." Dean said, though the words were hard to get out and only half true. "Joel seemed like a genuinely nice guy and an honest Hunter."

"Really?" Sam laughed. "You expect me to believe that?"

"Well..." Dean said. "It's mostly true." They both laughed at that. "I don't trust the Brits any more than I can throw 'em, but it did work out for the best this time."

"Lucky for us." Sam agreed. "Just so you know, I don't trust them either. They've tortured me. They don't get my trust." He got more serious. "But I want a world without monsters. A world without Hunting."

"And do you really think such a thing exists?"

"No." Sam said plainly. "But I want to believe." Sam paused for a moment. "And I think that right now, they seem to be the best chance of making that a reality."

"Maybe you're right."

"If not, then we just add them to our ever-lengthening list of enemies."

"What's another country on the list?"

"Exactly." They both laughed. "Now get ready." Sam instructed. "I picked up a hint of a pack of werewolves in Indiana. We're Hunting."

Dean's smile became uncontrollably large. He was eager for this! "It'll be nice to get behind the wheel of Baby again!"

"It'll be nice to Hunt with my brother again."

"Your brother never left you."

"My human brother." Sam smiled. "Now hurry up!"


End file.
